I am grateful, having now completed the four week placement near Valencia, to have gained the experience of observing the work of a private language school in a suburban town there, even if I didn't find much time to blog while at it! It was very helpful to learn about the Cambridge exams and the sorts of lessons taught and how the students need to prepare. Thankful too for the chances to practice skills learnt on Celta, to begin teaching full lessons and building on feedback on performance from the school's tutors. Confidence was helped by the end, meanwhile, by all the ideas bursting forth while assisting with others on the CPD course - over 10 evening classes - given at a teacher training centre in Valencia, where a comprehensive overview of up-to-date resources and techniques on teaching English for Spanish primary and secondary school teachers was presented by an amazing trainer - with contributions too from all the individual teachers attending. It was wonderful to experience the warmth and friendliness of these teachers and to spend a session during each evening focusing with some of them on their spoken English, as well as hearing from them their feedback on implementing the 'communicative approach' and on the challenges they face teaching English in state schools day to day.
Thanks to the tutors at the private school I was placed in - who were so gracious in allowing me to take their classes at a time of year when they are preoccupied with upcoming exams for the students - also to the very lovely placement group, as well as the coordinators and trainers at UKLC for all the organising, and not least - enormously - to the two teachers who invited me to observe classes at their very lovely state school in Albal. It was really nice to be so near Valencia - a bit of an unexpected treasure that would love to get to know better with a return trip sometime. It's always sad to leave Spain - not least after 4-weeks of trekking back and forth from classroom to desk - and then just starting to settle in as it's time for the plane back! However... now just need to build on the experience with the lesson plans coming next...
Friday 10 March 2017
Wednesday 8 March 2017
Last Post!
Well, a fabulous Erasmus placement has ended and I am now sat at home typing my last post while devouring coffee, toast and marmalade.
The last few days in Spain were full of wonderful experiences beginning with a day spent at a fantastic primary school in Favara where David, one of the teachers on the CEFIRE course, was among the teaching staff. It was great to work alongside such a gifted practitioner and see how well his creative ideas work in practise. I learned so much from him, not only the many ways he uses technology with his classes, but the importance of routines which he has developed over time to keep his students focused and on task during lessons which work so well. David had arranged for me to meet and interact with all but one class during the day which, given the absence of primary age teaching on my Schola timetable was a wonderful, unexpected bonus and I loved it! I always wanted to teach at primary level but this has never opened up for me as I'd hoped. One day with David at Favara simply confirmed my desire for this among all the fun and games, projects about sharks and cats, some lovely children and a fabulous team of teachers who seemed as thrilled to have a native speaker with them for the day as I was simply to be there. Thank you David and everyone else!
Immediately after my day at Favara, followed the final CEFIRE session, which for me was a highly emotive time and a session which despite not exactly going according to plan, summed up the very essence of CEFIRE for me. There were some excellent presentations from Spanish teachers as there have been throughout the course, including from David, who showcased all that I had seen during the day at school. He delivered a brilliant summary of his classroom practise lasting about half an hour but it was so worth giving him this time. I know these ideas and routines work folks! There wasn't a dry eye in the classroom after Oana had shown a You Tube clip of Musharaf, a student from a West Yorkshire Secondary School being supported to overcome his most debilitating stammer. Think the King's Speech! This is a modern tale which cannot help but touch you deeply unless you have no soul at all! I think at time of typing this blog that Channel 4 have removed this clip from You Tube but you can still see some shorter extracts from it which I encourage you to do. As the teacher who uses the same technique as in the King's Speech to help Musharaf says, the results are "insane"! After the final 1:1 sessions, the teachers were supposed to be presenting their ideas for teaching the topic to the age group they had been given in their 5:1 groups to the whole CEFIRE group. However, there simply wasn't time and instead this final session simply ended with conversation over some tasty snacks and soft drinks. New friends and contacts have definitely been made with some Spanish teachers expressing a desire to teach in the UK, while people like me plot a similar course in the opposite direction!! For all that CEFIRE has been, I firmly believe this initiative needs to continue and expand to reach even more teachers not only to help improve their command of the English language but also to raise the standards of teaching and thus engage and enthuse students to learn our beautiful language. With behavioural and other issues evident across the Spanish education system, as in the UK, notably at secondary level, if routines and practices such as those showcased by Jen and Emile (UKLC) and David for example are more widely employed, then surely this can only have a positive impact at all levels in the future. CEFIRE has provided a platform for teachers to come together to talk about their experiences and share ideas. On the evidence of this CEFIRE course, it is a successful initiative which has far exceeded my prior expectations and points the way forward for teachers in Spain, the UK and around the world. Please visit the CEFIRE blog to learn more.
Last Friday was a very poignant and reflective day for me but one which probably saw me deliver some of my best lessons of the whole placement. In my A2 class we simply used some of the adjectives learned in the previous lesson to describe people using textbook images and realia in the form of this teacher and her lovely, willing students before describing some family members and friends. Simple but effective with plenty of speaking using adjectives and adverbs. My B2 class was a classic example of changing planned activities because of something which came up in the lesson! The wonderful Mikhail and Manuel contributed greatly to a lesson focused on writing a review. I had planned to show some film trailers including Harry Potter, Star Wars and La La Land. It turned out that Manuel had already seen La La Land so I encouraged him to tell me all about it which he did. Then the three of us looked at an on-line review and discussed whether this mirrored how Manuel felt about the film. Then I asked Mikhail if he'd seen any films recently and he told me all about the true story of Desmond Doss in 'Hacksaw Ridge', the American conscientious objector in the second world war who was given a hard time over his pacifist stance only to become the hero who saves some of his platoon. We did the same thing with this film in what proved to be a really sttimulating lesson for the students and for me. After reviewing best practice for writing a review both Manuela nd Mihail agreed to write a review of their chosen film. We also looked at The King's Speech and the story of Musharaf to encourageand motivate them that whatever difficulties they may face in life, even in learning English, there is NOTHING that cannot be overcome! We ended the lesson with a group hug and the sounds of the wonderful Labi Siffre song "Something Inside So Strong" echoing all around us. What a brilliant way to end my teaching placement at Schola. I still have goose bumps thinking about it!
Saturday was just a brilliant day from start to finish. A planned 'team-building' activity proved to be a 'sing for your supper' activity except we had to cook it instead! After meeting up in central Valencia, we walked to a restaurant where we were given a masterclass in cooking paella Valencian style (with rabbit and chicken), a soup (my description!) of peppers and tomatoes and a light sponge dessert all washed down with much sangria and a little water!! This was a lovely thing for Alicia and Mampa to have organised which I think was enjoyed enormously by everyone, especially me! I will certainly be whipping my next cake mixture a lot more than I usually do!!
As fatigue started to set in and crowds began to gather for the evening firework display, while others went sightseeing, I returned to Moncada Alfara with Viv to ensure we didn't have problems catching a metro later in the evening. Well, what a brilliant decision that was! After a brief rest at the convent where Viv was staying overnight, we decided to go for a meal only to encounter the most spectacular carnival I personally have ever seen! For over two hours we saw loads of brass bands, people dressed in colourful costumes including candles, flowers, chefs and martians. People were dancing and singing, the children looked divine dressed as bees or butterflies and the spectacle was a joy to behold! A great way to end our time in Spain. We then found a great restaurant at just the right time where we had a lovely meal before the crowds joined us!! I also had some red meat in the form of lamb cutlets for the first time in four weeks which was lovely (sorry to all you vegetarians and vegans out there)!
I have never ever felt so much affinity with a place as I have with the people of Spain. Not only was this a new adventure, but also a first visit to Spain. The people, way and pace of life is what I feel we lack in the UK and so me! I just didn't want to come home and joked with everyone about buying a parachute with which to leap from the plane!! I have only happy memories of this placement which has given me more than I could ever have dreamed of. THANK YOU UKLC!! It will come as no surprise if I tell you I am already planning to move to Spain at the earliest opportunity. Now the end has come, I can reflect on so many good things, learn from the things which didn't go so well and look forward to a future which I could never have dreamed of in the middle of last year. "And this, much more than this, I did it my way"! Adios everyone and good luck with whatever the next chapters of your lives prove to be for you all. It's been a pleasure to meet you all and work with some of you. I hope we'll stay in touch. Con amor!
The last few days in Spain were full of wonderful experiences beginning with a day spent at a fantastic primary school in Favara where David, one of the teachers on the CEFIRE course, was among the teaching staff. It was great to work alongside such a gifted practitioner and see how well his creative ideas work in practise. I learned so much from him, not only the many ways he uses technology with his classes, but the importance of routines which he has developed over time to keep his students focused and on task during lessons which work so well. David had arranged for me to meet and interact with all but one class during the day which, given the absence of primary age teaching on my Schola timetable was a wonderful, unexpected bonus and I loved it! I always wanted to teach at primary level but this has never opened up for me as I'd hoped. One day with David at Favara simply confirmed my desire for this among all the fun and games, projects about sharks and cats, some lovely children and a fabulous team of teachers who seemed as thrilled to have a native speaker with them for the day as I was simply to be there. Thank you David and everyone else!
Immediately after my day at Favara, followed the final CEFIRE session, which for me was a highly emotive time and a session which despite not exactly going according to plan, summed up the very essence of CEFIRE for me. There were some excellent presentations from Spanish teachers as there have been throughout the course, including from David, who showcased all that I had seen during the day at school. He delivered a brilliant summary of his classroom practise lasting about half an hour but it was so worth giving him this time. I know these ideas and routines work folks! There wasn't a dry eye in the classroom after Oana had shown a You Tube clip of Musharaf, a student from a West Yorkshire Secondary School being supported to overcome his most debilitating stammer. Think the King's Speech! This is a modern tale which cannot help but touch you deeply unless you have no soul at all! I think at time of typing this blog that Channel 4 have removed this clip from You Tube but you can still see some shorter extracts from it which I encourage you to do. As the teacher who uses the same technique as in the King's Speech to help Musharaf says, the results are "insane"! After the final 1:1 sessions, the teachers were supposed to be presenting their ideas for teaching the topic to the age group they had been given in their 5:1 groups to the whole CEFIRE group. However, there simply wasn't time and instead this final session simply ended with conversation over some tasty snacks and soft drinks. New friends and contacts have definitely been made with some Spanish teachers expressing a desire to teach in the UK, while people like me plot a similar course in the opposite direction!! For all that CEFIRE has been, I firmly believe this initiative needs to continue and expand to reach even more teachers not only to help improve their command of the English language but also to raise the standards of teaching and thus engage and enthuse students to learn our beautiful language. With behavioural and other issues evident across the Spanish education system, as in the UK, notably at secondary level, if routines and practices such as those showcased by Jen and Emile (UKLC) and David for example are more widely employed, then surely this can only have a positive impact at all levels in the future. CEFIRE has provided a platform for teachers to come together to talk about their experiences and share ideas. On the evidence of this CEFIRE course, it is a successful initiative which has far exceeded my prior expectations and points the way forward for teachers in Spain, the UK and around the world. Please visit the CEFIRE blog to learn more.
Last Friday was a very poignant and reflective day for me but one which probably saw me deliver some of my best lessons of the whole placement. In my A2 class we simply used some of the adjectives learned in the previous lesson to describe people using textbook images and realia in the form of this teacher and her lovely, willing students before describing some family members and friends. Simple but effective with plenty of speaking using adjectives and adverbs. My B2 class was a classic example of changing planned activities because of something which came up in the lesson! The wonderful Mikhail and Manuel contributed greatly to a lesson focused on writing a review. I had planned to show some film trailers including Harry Potter, Star Wars and La La Land. It turned out that Manuel had already seen La La Land so I encouraged him to tell me all about it which he did. Then the three of us looked at an on-line review and discussed whether this mirrored how Manuel felt about the film. Then I asked Mikhail if he'd seen any films recently and he told me all about the true story of Desmond Doss in 'Hacksaw Ridge', the American conscientious objector in the second world war who was given a hard time over his pacifist stance only to become the hero who saves some of his platoon. We did the same thing with this film in what proved to be a really sttimulating lesson for the students and for me. After reviewing best practice for writing a review both Manuela nd Mihail agreed to write a review of their chosen film. We also looked at The King's Speech and the story of Musharaf to encourageand motivate them that whatever difficulties they may face in life, even in learning English, there is NOTHING that cannot be overcome! We ended the lesson with a group hug and the sounds of the wonderful Labi Siffre song "Something Inside So Strong" echoing all around us. What a brilliant way to end my teaching placement at Schola. I still have goose bumps thinking about it!
Saturday was just a brilliant day from start to finish. A planned 'team-building' activity proved to be a 'sing for your supper' activity except we had to cook it instead! After meeting up in central Valencia, we walked to a restaurant where we were given a masterclass in cooking paella Valencian style (with rabbit and chicken), a soup (my description!) of peppers and tomatoes and a light sponge dessert all washed down with much sangria and a little water!! This was a lovely thing for Alicia and Mampa to have organised which I think was enjoyed enormously by everyone, especially me! I will certainly be whipping my next cake mixture a lot more than I usually do!!
As fatigue started to set in and crowds began to gather for the evening firework display, while others went sightseeing, I returned to Moncada Alfara with Viv to ensure we didn't have problems catching a metro later in the evening. Well, what a brilliant decision that was! After a brief rest at the convent where Viv was staying overnight, we decided to go for a meal only to encounter the most spectacular carnival I personally have ever seen! For over two hours we saw loads of brass bands, people dressed in colourful costumes including candles, flowers, chefs and martians. People were dancing and singing, the children looked divine dressed as bees or butterflies and the spectacle was a joy to behold! A great way to end our time in Spain. We then found a great restaurant at just the right time where we had a lovely meal before the crowds joined us!! I also had some red meat in the form of lamb cutlets for the first time in four weeks which was lovely (sorry to all you vegetarians and vegans out there)!
I have never ever felt so much affinity with a place as I have with the people of Spain. Not only was this a new adventure, but also a first visit to Spain. The people, way and pace of life is what I feel we lack in the UK and so me! I just didn't want to come home and joked with everyone about buying a parachute with which to leap from the plane!! I have only happy memories of this placement which has given me more than I could ever have dreamed of. THANK YOU UKLC!! It will come as no surprise if I tell you I am already planning to move to Spain at the earliest opportunity. Now the end has come, I can reflect on so many good things, learn from the things which didn't go so well and look forward to a future which I could never have dreamed of in the middle of last year. "And this, much more than this, I did it my way"! Adios everyone and good luck with whatever the next chapters of your lives prove to be for you all. It's been a pleasure to meet you all and work with some of you. I hope we'll stay in touch. Con amor!
Saturday 4 March 2017
School of English Cooking
School of English Cooking
Today was the last day in Valencia and on the agenda was ‘teambuilding’.
I normally associate teambuilding with corporate away days where we end up playing
peculiar games which involve a lot of discussion and negotiating with others.
We all met at 1 pm and were led away down some streets to Esceula de cucina.
(Not an esceula ingles) I was intrigued. We entered and were given a glass of
Sangria, followed by a talk on how to make paella – a local dish to Valencia, due
to the rice grown in the Valencia region along with horchata - a drink made from tiger nuts typical to
Valencia, and a sponge cake made with pumpkin you guessed it - another
traditional dish from Valencia.
After the talk we were told we going to make
all these culinary delights. So it was all hands to deck: preparing vegetables,
chicken fried, tomatoes and red pepper blended for gazpacho soup. Sponge cake
mixed up and put in the oven. Cooking underway, spices paprika and saffron
explained and added by our chef. A couple of mixing bowls of water added and
brought to the boil and last but not least the rice is added. We were then
invited to sit down to eat all we had prepared.
Despite my misgivings on (a) teambuilding (b) my culinary skills, this
was a perfect way to relax and finalise a month in Valencia. Thank you UKLC .
The end is approaching...
Today I taught my last four lessons, it was a pleasure to
hear 12 year olds all reaching out of their seats, screaming ‘me, me’, vying to be the first to give the answers about computer games I had put them. In the
course of the past month, I have learned how to manage classes of over 12, the
importance of eye catching visuals to keep students engaged, give better step
by step instructions and I am learning not to panic when the technology doesn’t
work as planned. At lunchtime I bid
farewell to the teachers and we wished each other well.
Last night was the last of the CEFIRE sessions and the
director of the institute personally thanked us and we were given a gift and
certificate of appreciation. The evening
session, was spent listening to one of the primary teachers sharing a lot of
his knowledge on how he supervises and entertains the kids –very interesting. I
sensed similarities to what we learned in Chester. The session ended with some
Spanish type nibbles – savoury pastry with some tasty sauce inside, little
shortcake biscuits with nuts in them and a sponge cake made from pumpkin. At the end, as the Spanish love to talk,
everyone mingled and spoke to one other. This was so unlike in the UK when all
attendees would just say ‘bye’ and rush off. Hugs and kisses all round as
everyone finally left.
The day before was our last planning session for CEFIRE and
we had an end of course lunch. This was a very low key affair at the local bar.
This had been pre-booked with the owner Julio who served up homemade paella , light
fizzy sangria served with ice and lemon both of which were mouth-wateringly
delicious. A Valencian salad (lettuce,
tuna, olives, tomato) followed by a milk
pudding accompanied by a very moorish pastry which has added an
inch to my hips, and customary coffee to finish.
Tomorrow is a team building event; I am unsure what this entails
but the instructions are to be at my local metro station for 1 pm. So I get a lie in tomorrow morning as I have
already done most of my packing.
Then on Sunday it is the start of a disinclined journey
home. I have checked the BBC weather forecast and it is indicating typical
English Sunday afternoon of rain…
Bringing it all back home
So, we've reached the end of our four-week Valencian adventure. Yesterday was my observed lesson and it went ok despite computer issues that meant losing the first fifteen minutes or so. However, the students actively participated and at the end of the lesson, Almudena, the teacher, told me that they were concerned as to whether I had passed, which was sweet. It was graduation day for the 2nd year vocational students so the lesson I had with Vicente, my tutor, was spent with him and one of the energy efficiency students giving me a guided tour of their installation in the workshop. It was great to see everyone buzzing around trying to get their displays finished for the open evening taking place in a matter of hours.
Although I found my placement at Jesuitas difficult at times (Almudena told me that during her first year there she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing!), I left the school on a positive note. I don't think I could work there, but I guess that having your own classes from the beginning of the year, rather than just stopping by for a month, are two very different things.
I don't want to ramble on so here are my highlights of Valencia:
- Participating in Cefire. It was great to be involved in something from start to finish. We met some brilliant teachers, and I have learnt a great deal especially in terms of resources. Oana (the programme coordinator) is a truly lovely person and you cannot help but be infected by her enthusiasm.
- The occasions when my students made an effort to speak English because it showed that they have the ability but just lack confidence.
- The medieval carnival at Vicente Trenco. Seeing all the children dressed up as jesters, minstrels, dragons, knights, and princesses go parading through Moncada accompanied by a samba band was fantastic. It wouldn't happen back in the UK!
- The paella prepared by Julio. I ate so much I literally waddled back to the flat.
- The meal at Restaurante Bruselas.
- Strolling around the Jardin del Turia in the late afternoon sunshine.
So although the placement was perhaps not as I had anticipated, I have absolutely no regrets in coming out to Spain. If someone offered me the chance to stay in Valencia I would accept without hesitation.
I will finish by saying a big thank you to UKLC, Carolyn, Amy, Michael, Alicia, Mampa, all at Schola, and my fellow trainees.
Hasta que nos encontremos de nuevo.
Thursday 2 March 2017
Good-bye Valencian Oranges
Today was my last day of "in vogue" teaching which I concluded with the song "Save the Last Dance for Me", as it made use of relative pronouns. The students and the host teacher loved it.
Thanks to UKLC, I know now that I actually enjoy teaching teenagers, as much as I enjoy teaching adults. After I recovered from my flu, I was able to tab into the energy of these youngster and use it for their own benefit. Teaching at this school also boosted my confidence in running bigger and diverse classes. There were between 25 and 30 students in each class, some of whom had learning difficulties or physical disabilities.
Some students appreciated my presence. They thanked me for spending time with them. Bless them.
Hopefully, this experience would open the door to teaching in other countries... Thank you Valencia for offering me a taste of a new world and an inexhaustible supply of oranges!
Thanks to UKLC, I know now that I actually enjoy teaching teenagers, as much as I enjoy teaching adults. After I recovered from my flu, I was able to tab into the energy of these youngster and use it for their own benefit. Teaching at this school also boosted my confidence in running bigger and diverse classes. There were between 25 and 30 students in each class, some of whom had learning difficulties or physical disabilities.
Some students appreciated my presence. They thanked me for spending time with them. Bless them.
Hopefully, this experience would open the door to teaching in other countries... Thank you Valencia for offering me a taste of a new world and an inexhaustible supply of oranges!
Wednesday 1 March 2017
And now the end is near...!
Hi all
My what a lot has happened since my last blog post! More great lessons with my B1 and B2 classes on conditionals, essay and article writing and one of my best lessons of the whole placement with a C1 class on modal verbs last Saturday. I know I still have much to improve on but as this fantastic experience draws to a close, I feel more confident in myself and in how to deliver interesting and engaging lessons to non-native students. Whilst there were a few things I could have done differently during my observed lesson, I was broadly pleased with both my lesson pace and delivery and the students' engagement which I hope will be fully revealed in their homework!! I had planned my activities to introduce/revise the use of adjectives and adverbs for use in writing an article about 'my favourite space'. However the lesson lacked more opportunites for students to discuss their ideas; an observation I readily accept! This is a steep learning curve but I feel that I'm improving all the time and the rapport I have with all classes continues to encourage me and give me confidence. I am so grateful for all the erasmus experience has given me over the last month.
The social side too has provided many memorable moments too; especially last weekend. After another quick dip in the swimming poolon Saturday afternoon, it was time to catch the metro to Valencia to experience the spectacle of a pre-Fire Festival firework display. I´'ve never seen metro or any other trains so packed with people! The crowds filled the streets too as we all walked to a suitable vantage point from which we could watch the display. Unfortunately we ended up on a side street with a limited view of one of the noisiest and most spectacular fireworks displays I've ever been to and as you can see from clips on You Tube. Then, Laura, Hazel, Vivienne, Jonathan and me, found a brilliant restaurant for arguably the best meal we have had during our stay in Spain. La Bruselas offered us both wonderful food which just kept coming; great value and with fabulous service. The waiter reminded some of us of Basil Fawlty as he raced up and down stairs serving food and clearing dirty dishes but all done with one of the broadest smiles you have ever seen!! As we left, it was hugs alround and some fond memories to accompany a satisfied appetite!
On Sunday, I visited the Anglican church community again. There was no Eucharist this week but a very warm welcome once again with friendships formed amid promises to remain in touch on my return to the UK. This has also been a highlight of my stay in Spain and somewhere I would seek to engage with on a regular basis if I moved to Spain for any length of time in the future. In the afternoon, I spent a brilliant few hours walking to and along the beach with Laura in bright sunshine in February!! Not what I would have been doing in ole blighty! Although our paella was eaten in shade and rather on the pricey side, this had been another brilliant day!
"And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain..." as I plan my last few lessons and prepare to fly home after one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you with all my heart to UKLC and all at Schola, Moncada.
My what a lot has happened since my last blog post! More great lessons with my B1 and B2 classes on conditionals, essay and article writing and one of my best lessons of the whole placement with a C1 class on modal verbs last Saturday. I know I still have much to improve on but as this fantastic experience draws to a close, I feel more confident in myself and in how to deliver interesting and engaging lessons to non-native students. Whilst there were a few things I could have done differently during my observed lesson, I was broadly pleased with both my lesson pace and delivery and the students' engagement which I hope will be fully revealed in their homework!! I had planned my activities to introduce/revise the use of adjectives and adverbs for use in writing an article about 'my favourite space'. However the lesson lacked more opportunites for students to discuss their ideas; an observation I readily accept! This is a steep learning curve but I feel that I'm improving all the time and the rapport I have with all classes continues to encourage me and give me confidence. I am so grateful for all the erasmus experience has given me over the last month.
The social side too has provided many memorable moments too; especially last weekend. After another quick dip in the swimming poolon Saturday afternoon, it was time to catch the metro to Valencia to experience the spectacle of a pre-Fire Festival firework display. I´'ve never seen metro or any other trains so packed with people! The crowds filled the streets too as we all walked to a suitable vantage point from which we could watch the display. Unfortunately we ended up on a side street with a limited view of one of the noisiest and most spectacular fireworks displays I've ever been to and as you can see from clips on You Tube. Then, Laura, Hazel, Vivienne, Jonathan and me, found a brilliant restaurant for arguably the best meal we have had during our stay in Spain. La Bruselas offered us both wonderful food which just kept coming; great value and with fabulous service. The waiter reminded some of us of Basil Fawlty as he raced up and down stairs serving food and clearing dirty dishes but all done with one of the broadest smiles you have ever seen!! As we left, it was hugs alround and some fond memories to accompany a satisfied appetite!
On Sunday, I visited the Anglican church community again. There was no Eucharist this week but a very warm welcome once again with friendships formed amid promises to remain in touch on my return to the UK. This has also been a highlight of my stay in Spain and somewhere I would seek to engage with on a regular basis if I moved to Spain for any length of time in the future. In the afternoon, I spent a brilliant few hours walking to and along the beach with Laura in bright sunshine in February!! Not what I would have been doing in ole blighty! Although our paella was eaten in shade and rather on the pricey side, this had been another brilliant day!
"And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain..." as I plan my last few lessons and prepare to fly home after one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you with all my heart to UKLC and all at Schola, Moncada.
Tuesday 28 February 2017
Observed Lesson
So today was my much anticipated observed lesson. My
internal clock had decided that waking up at 4 am would give me enough time to
be punctual. As a result I felt a little jaded and nervous when it it was time
for me to teach. Especially as the lesson before was a lower level class and I
began to wonder if they had lost the ability to comprehend English. This class
being a higher level I was hoping the lesson would be smoother. It didn’t quite
go as smoothly as I had hoped. Certain things escaped me such as timings and the
logical sequence of events. However this is all a learning curve and I am now evaluating
and making notes to make the next lesson better. To this end I am about to plan
a lesson topic on film making, and to make it even more topical with a look
back at the Oscars. And a lesson on crime, which will incorporate a YouTube
video on a burglar busting Granny.
Last Kilos of Oranges
To be honest, I had never eaten as many oranges as I have here in such a short amount of time: freshly squeezed orange juice at the café near my school, fresh oranges as soon as I reach home, oranges before I go to sleep....
The little souls at my school have so much to learn; and so many of them seem lost early in the morning. I feel like cutting oranges for them whenever I present an exception during a grammar lesson. Today the Primeros (Beginners) were learning how to conjugate regular verbs in the past tense. I told them to watch out for the consonants 't' and 'd' as it affects their pronunciation of verbs in the past tense, and to beware of vowels before the 'y' (y before 'ed' turns into 'i' but not if there is a vowel such as 'a' or 'u'). To make their life more complicated their book had also given the verb 'to stop' to conjugate but had not given its correct form in the past tense (none knew that the 'p' doubled). Their teacher wants me to stick to her usual teaching style and spend an hour correcting exercises.
But the upper levels (Segundos, Terceros, and Cuartos) have an insightful teacher, and get a taste of contemporary up-to-date teaching. The rest of the week I will be dealing with them, and they will benefit as usual from the energy I have ingested from their local oranges.
The little souls at my school have so much to learn; and so many of them seem lost early in the morning. I feel like cutting oranges for them whenever I present an exception during a grammar lesson. Today the Primeros (Beginners) were learning how to conjugate regular verbs in the past tense. I told them to watch out for the consonants 't' and 'd' as it affects their pronunciation of verbs in the past tense, and to beware of vowels before the 'y' (y before 'ed' turns into 'i' but not if there is a vowel such as 'a' or 'u'). To make their life more complicated their book had also given the verb 'to stop' to conjugate but had not given its correct form in the past tense (none knew that the 'p' doubled). Their teacher wants me to stick to her usual teaching style and spend an hour correcting exercises.
But the upper levels (Segundos, Terceros, and Cuartos) have an insightful teacher, and get a taste of contemporary up-to-date teaching. The rest of the week I will be dealing with them, and they will benefit as usual from the energy I have ingested from their local oranges.
Monday 27 February 2017
A few random thoughts
We're into the final week and I will be sorry to leave Valencia on Sunday. The city has really grown on me. The good weather has obviously helped - having the warmth of the sun on your face in February is lovely - but I will also miss the friendliness of the people and their relaxed attitude to life (even though it can be challenging when trying to prepare lessons), the Jardín del Turia, patatas bravas, and a whole host of other things.
The teaching side of things hasn't really changed since I last wrote. What I am being asked to cover is more conceptual than during my CELTA e.g. how to write a CV, how to write a formal email, and how to act in an interview. However, during a morning lesson last Friday, when the students were supposed to be working on some English computer programme but I could see some browsing fashion and holiday sites, two girls called me over and began a twenty minute conversation, initially on the upcoming fireworks (which, by the way, were the loudest I have ever heard!), and then on bullfighting. Although they struggled with vocabulary it was heartening to see them making an effort.
I have also been able to visit a primary school (Vicente Trenco, Jemima's placement). It is so different to where I am! So much colour and music; so many smiling faces. I'm not sure I have the patience to teach young children but it was definitely a worthwhile way of spending a few hours.
The teaching side of things hasn't really changed since I last wrote. What I am being asked to cover is more conceptual than during my CELTA e.g. how to write a CV, how to write a formal email, and how to act in an interview. However, during a morning lesson last Friday, when the students were supposed to be working on some English computer programme but I could see some browsing fashion and holiday sites, two girls called me over and began a twenty minute conversation, initially on the upcoming fireworks (which, by the way, were the loudest I have ever heard!), and then on bullfighting. Although they struggled with vocabulary it was heartening to see them making an effort.
I have also been able to visit a primary school (Vicente Trenco, Jemima's placement). It is so different to where I am! So much colour and music; so many smiling faces. I'm not sure I have the patience to teach young children but it was definitely a worthwhile way of spending a few hours.
The Festival of Fallas
The Festival of Fallas
What a weekend! Saturday started off with lesson planning,
housework and washing. As I was hanging
out my on the rooftop of the block of flats I am staying in. Manu, my host, and
the other half of ‘Manu and Rita’ the lovely couple we are staying with, tells
me to look over the edge. My immediate thought was of some adrenaline junkie
view. The view was in fact of people in red fleeces setting up tables and
chairs, with water and a paella pan in preparation for a street party to celebrate
Falles pronounced ‘Fayas’. This is the
Festival of Fire and everyone has Festival Fever. There is loud music emanating
from a street further away.
The celebrations continue into the evening with a firework
display and I had already arranged to meet some of the others and head into
town. Once in town we simply followed the throng of people all heading towards
two bridges where the fireworks were going to take place. What a show! We were treated to a ten minute non-stop
extravaganza. Fireworks exploding all over the place – stars and rockets lit up
the sky, smoke billowing everywhere, all this was followed by a long rumbling
noise which thundered through me, which ended the show with a big bang.
Afterwards we looked for somewhere to eat and stumbled
across a restaurant not far from the main square and more importantly was not
fully booked out. The mother and son who ran the restaurant were very
accommodating and with my basic Spanish and help from other customers we worked
out there was special menu in place due to the festivities.
This consisted of a large salad, goat’s cheese and samosas
looking pastries times two, and a main meal of meat or fish, finished off with
a selection of deserts all one plate. This was a non-tourist restaurant and the
staff bent over backwards to accommodate us – it was a great evening. After a
coffee we headed home.
Sunday morning, more lesson planning and my hostess Rita
informs me that there are more fireworks this evening too! I meet up with Yve
and we head off to the beach, which we find in a round about way due to my map
reading skills. On the beach we find a restaurant with a view of the sea and
order paella, once again we have some confusion over the menu, but we sort it
out even if it was more expensive that we originally thought.
Being so impressed with last nights firework show, I am
eager to see another display and head to another part of town to join the
crowds. This starts with a light show being projected onto the towers of
Valencia, followed by a speech by the Mayor in Valencian, women in their
traditional costumes. The speeches are followed by the national anthem and a
finale of a quick three minute firework display. In contrast to the previous
night this was not the formal kind of show I was expecting. But I can’t
complain as I have witnessed a great event in a wonderful city.
Monday
has come around and we are into our final week of teaching
Thursday 23 February 2017
The sun always shines on Valencia
While the sun continues to shine, I am not sure I could say
that lessons are shining. I find my nerves have not abated as I can’t seem to
get into the swing of things and I become nervous and forget my lines so to
speak. However this is not stage fright as I enjoy extracting English from the
students.
I feel I have nailed one classroom management
technique – hands up and look around the class. If anyone is struggling with
this easy-on-paper technique, I have realised that the key is to make eye
contact with any student making noise.
Once eye contact is made with the student they realise their culpability.
While I am not suggesting we all go power crazy, it does emit a fleeting sense
of respect between student and teacher.
The school has a great atmosphere with an emphasis on
learning but with fun activities thrown in too. All the teachers in the English department are
very helpful. Other teachers in general
are very friendly and give me an ‘Hola’ in passing despite that fact I am not
the usual teaching staff.
I am not in school today due to exams, but I am busy
thinking about how to incorporate visuals into my lessons and am playing around
with PowerPoint and finding ideas in general which I hope will engage my class.
Also the CIFIRE project rolls on – with presentations to be
given this evening about teaching techniques. So far we have used how to
incorporate the following into lessons: an
activity using a smartphone, a house which made from folding a sheet of A4,
ways to make the textbook more meaningful, blogs and not to mention a host of useful websites
delivering anything from a random name selector
to worksheets/wordsearaches and song lyrics…
Wednesday 22 February 2017
Valencian Oranges
Finally this week I was my good old self again. The Valencian oranges did me more good than the half a dozen medicines I swallowed last week. At least that is what I would like to believe.
But to be honest even when I was ill, I was still in control. This said all the teachers are happy to see me in good shape.
Due to the limited extant facilities at the school the old saying "the early bird catches the worm" has been changed to "the early teacher catches the printer" in Valencia. And until now I have beaten all the teachers in the printing contest by getting to the school before all of them. YouTube has been quite inspiring when it comes to finding supporting material for the lessons. Today's lesson was on ethical fashion and I found a two minute documentary on the subject made in Australia. It helped me to develop a controlled practice exercise for the Tercero students and expose them to the Australian accent. I was looking forward to getting a freshly squeezed orange juice from a nearby café, but the art teacher asked me to observe a student presentation in her class, and share my thoughts. She believed that my Italian would help me understand the entire presentation. At the end she had to ask one of our competent students to translate a section of it into English. I thought they had done a good job at their level. After I left I had only time to get a take away orange juice before starting teaching: "para llevar" is a useful Spanish phrase to know in these conditions.
By now you have guessed: I love oranges, and Valencia is a perfect fit for me.
But to be honest even when I was ill, I was still in control. This said all the teachers are happy to see me in good shape.
Due to the limited extant facilities at the school the old saying "the early bird catches the worm" has been changed to "the early teacher catches the printer" in Valencia. And until now I have beaten all the teachers in the printing contest by getting to the school before all of them. YouTube has been quite inspiring when it comes to finding supporting material for the lessons. Today's lesson was on ethical fashion and I found a two minute documentary on the subject made in Australia. It helped me to develop a controlled practice exercise for the Tercero students and expose them to the Australian accent. I was looking forward to getting a freshly squeezed orange juice from a nearby café, but the art teacher asked me to observe a student presentation in her class, and share my thoughts. She believed that my Italian would help me understand the entire presentation. At the end she had to ask one of our competent students to translate a section of it into English. I thought they had done a good job at their level. After I left I had only time to get a take away orange juice before starting teaching: "para llevar" is a useful Spanish phrase to know in these conditions.
By now you have guessed: I love oranges, and Valencia is a perfect fit for me.
I can't believe that we're halfway through our third week already in what has been a truly fabulous and positive experience alround.
Last weekend was probably my best time for socialising during which I actually found the Anglican Church (don´t die of shock folks LOL)! The whole congregation were so welcoming and friendly and I even learned some of the liturgy in Spanish. A taste of things to come perhaps? We even had sandwiches and cake with tea or coffee after the service which was a lovely, if unexpected surprise!The rest of Sunday was spent finally looking around the beautiful city centre of Valencia with all it´s grand historic buildings, lovely cafe´s´ restaurants and of course the botanical gardens where Hazel, Laura and me were entertained briefly by a young male student practising his saxophone! A lovely moment. The group tapas meal which Alice had arranged for us proved to be the best meal I've had here so far probably because I was able to have some fish which I love. This came in the form of garlic prawns, cod croquets and pilchards on a bread base with salad all washed down with the largest glass of San Miguel I´ve ever seen! After a brief foray to the English Speaking gathering which was fun, I made a mad dash to the metro station to catch the last train back to Masies. On the Saturday morning I´d played the role of interlocutor with a B2 intensive group preparing for speaking exams and taught a session on prefixes and suffixes with a B1 intensive groupwhich I wasn´t expecting but went well nevertheless. Maybe I don´t need planning time LOL!!! I wish!! My best lessons do seem to go well when I haven´t had much time to prepare and over think them and therefore I can improvise more as I love to do! After a late breakfast at the wondeful Bar Valencia,I went home and took Laura´s beautiful golden retriever Thor for a long walk in the 18 degree sunshine before spending an hour relaxing and swimming in her pool in Thor´s wonderfully playful company! LUSH!!
As for the teaching, a critical overview might look like this. Some good lessons with A2, B1 and B2 classes full of interactive activities and games during which I have built a great rapport with my students. Timing has been an issue on occasion but feedback from my first assessed lesson was really positive and encouraging so feeling good about my progress. I might become an EFL teacher yet LOL! Some students have even asked for additional help with preparation for their speaking exams which is nice. The CEFIRE sessions just keep getting better and as far as I´m concerned, I am learning so much from the Spanish teachers as we seek to help develop their proficiency in English. This week each of the native Erasmusers are supervising a small group of teachers who have been given a topic and age group for which they have to plan some activities and other ideas for how to present this. Each group will present to the whole CEFIRE group at the penultimate session next week. This has been a brilliant experience but leaves me feeling like I need to take an ICT as well as a Spanish course when I return to the UK!!
I know I´m nowhere near the finished article and still have much to improve on but thus far I have shown myself more than competent which together with my desire to empower these wonderful students with the English language skills they need to have the chance of the life they wish for themselves is a pretty good foundation to build on I think. My heartfelt thanks to all at UKLC, Laura, Oana and all my fellow Erasmusers for their kindness, support and this golden opportunity, and especially to Jemima, the best house mate ever!
Until next time, keep living and enjoying the dream everyone. I have a speaking exam practice lesson shortly then planning a permanent move to Spain!! Adios amigos and amigas!
Last weekend was probably my best time for socialising during which I actually found the Anglican Church (don´t die of shock folks LOL)! The whole congregation were so welcoming and friendly and I even learned some of the liturgy in Spanish. A taste of things to come perhaps? We even had sandwiches and cake with tea or coffee after the service which was a lovely, if unexpected surprise!The rest of Sunday was spent finally looking around the beautiful city centre of Valencia with all it´s grand historic buildings, lovely cafe´s´ restaurants and of course the botanical gardens where Hazel, Laura and me were entertained briefly by a young male student practising his saxophone! A lovely moment. The group tapas meal which Alice had arranged for us proved to be the best meal I've had here so far probably because I was able to have some fish which I love. This came in the form of garlic prawns, cod croquets and pilchards on a bread base with salad all washed down with the largest glass of San Miguel I´ve ever seen! After a brief foray to the English Speaking gathering which was fun, I made a mad dash to the metro station to catch the last train back to Masies. On the Saturday morning I´d played the role of interlocutor with a B2 intensive group preparing for speaking exams and taught a session on prefixes and suffixes with a B1 intensive groupwhich I wasn´t expecting but went well nevertheless. Maybe I don´t need planning time LOL!!! I wish!! My best lessons do seem to go well when I haven´t had much time to prepare and over think them and therefore I can improvise more as I love to do! After a late breakfast at the wondeful Bar Valencia,I went home and took Laura´s beautiful golden retriever Thor for a long walk in the 18 degree sunshine before spending an hour relaxing and swimming in her pool in Thor´s wonderfully playful company! LUSH!!
As for the teaching, a critical overview might look like this. Some good lessons with A2, B1 and B2 classes full of interactive activities and games during which I have built a great rapport with my students. Timing has been an issue on occasion but feedback from my first assessed lesson was really positive and encouraging so feeling good about my progress. I might become an EFL teacher yet LOL! Some students have even asked for additional help with preparation for their speaking exams which is nice. The CEFIRE sessions just keep getting better and as far as I´m concerned, I am learning so much from the Spanish teachers as we seek to help develop their proficiency in English. This week each of the native Erasmusers are supervising a small group of teachers who have been given a topic and age group for which they have to plan some activities and other ideas for how to present this. Each group will present to the whole CEFIRE group at the penultimate session next week. This has been a brilliant experience but leaves me feeling like I need to take an ICT as well as a Spanish course when I return to the UK!!
I know I´m nowhere near the finished article and still have much to improve on but thus far I have shown myself more than competent which together with my desire to empower these wonderful students with the English language skills they need to have the chance of the life they wish for themselves is a pretty good foundation to build on I think. My heartfelt thanks to all at UKLC, Laura, Oana and all my fellow Erasmusers for their kindness, support and this golden opportunity, and especially to Jemima, the best house mate ever!
Until next time, keep living and enjoying the dream everyone. I have a speaking exam practice lesson shortly then planning a permanent move to Spain!! Adios amigos and amigas!
Tuesday 21 February 2017
At the Halfway Point
So much has happened over the last 2 weeks, it´s almost difficult to take it all in. The journey began with two days of intensive training in Chester, then our early morning flight from Manchester to Alicante, a coach trip through the sort-of desert to Gandia and then settling into an apartment with three lovely ladies who I´d just met the day before. That evening we went on a slightly roundabout (you could even say haphazard or chaotic...) recce of our various schools in Gandia, and I tried to ready myself for whatever Monday morning held.
I was definitely nervous as I walked into Escolapias Gandia - a beautiful old building a few minutes walk from our apartment. I was shown around the school and introduced to Maria, the teacher I´d be working most closely with. Lots of the other teachers were keen to practise their English with me, and they were all extremely welcoming and accomodating. Then, after the weeks of build up and an intense hour of introductions, air-kisses and questions, it was a welcome change of pace to start observing the Spanish teachers and catch my breath.
It´s been massively interesting observing and teaching here at Escolapias. An institution of this character and size offers a completely different perspective than our CELTA course. There is an emphasis on pastoral care (it being a Catholic school founded by an order of nuns), the teachers see and speak to the parents (or grandparents) daily when the children are ´handed over´ at the school gates. There is a very personal feel, and the teachers and students are warm and friendly with each other. I´ve experienced it myself, walking through the playground to find students running up to me to give me hugs - charming, disarming and as an English person, slightly bewildering at first!
I shan´t go on longer just now, but another post from me about the teaching side of things is coming up shortly.
I was definitely nervous as I walked into Escolapias Gandia - a beautiful old building a few minutes walk from our apartment. I was shown around the school and introduced to Maria, the teacher I´d be working most closely with. Lots of the other teachers were keen to practise their English with me, and they were all extremely welcoming and accomodating. Then, after the weeks of build up and an intense hour of introductions, air-kisses and questions, it was a welcome change of pace to start observing the Spanish teachers and catch my breath.
It´s been massively interesting observing and teaching here at Escolapias. An institution of this character and size offers a completely different perspective than our CELTA course. There is an emphasis on pastoral care (it being a Catholic school founded by an order of nuns), the teachers see and speak to the parents (or grandparents) daily when the children are ´handed over´ at the school gates. There is a very personal feel, and the teachers and students are warm and friendly with each other. I´ve experienced it myself, walking through the playground to find students running up to me to give me hugs - charming, disarming and as an English person, slightly bewildering at first!
I shan´t go on longer just now, but another post from me about the teaching side of things is coming up shortly.
Monday 20 February 2017
Half time
Hi all,
Just in case any of you are on tenterhooks regarding the score line of the Valencia v Atletico Bilbao match that I went to watch yesterday, it finished 2-0 to the hosts (full game available on YouTube).
Right, on to serious matters. Week 2 was a mixed one for me. If I had written this on Thursday, it would have been a lot darker as I was feeling pretty despondent about things following my four hours in school that morning. I am struggling with the fact that the teachers just want to use me for speaking practice for the students as this isn't really conducive to planning meaningful lessons. However, I managed to teach two lessons on Friday, one completely off the top of my head (students talking about what is good and bad about Spain), and the other somewhat more planned (gender stereotypes). I wouldn't consider either of them a fantastic success, but they could have been a lot worse; and frankly, it was good just to be doing something useful.
I don't know what the Spanish for 'lesson planning' is. I'm beginning to think that there isn't a direct translation because the concept doesn't appear to exist over here. It would be very interesting to see the outcomes if some of the teachers did CELTA!
I'm putting together a Valencia 2017 Spotify playlist. So far I have 'Que Sera Sera' by Doris Day and 'Ain't Your Mama' by J Lo. So if you've used any songs in your lessons then let me know. I'm sure we'll end up with an eclectic mix.
Just in case any of you are on tenterhooks regarding the score line of the Valencia v Atletico Bilbao match that I went to watch yesterday, it finished 2-0 to the hosts (full game available on YouTube).
Right, on to serious matters. Week 2 was a mixed one for me. If I had written this on Thursday, it would have been a lot darker as I was feeling pretty despondent about things following my four hours in school that morning. I am struggling with the fact that the teachers just want to use me for speaking practice for the students as this isn't really conducive to planning meaningful lessons. However, I managed to teach two lessons on Friday, one completely off the top of my head (students talking about what is good and bad about Spain), and the other somewhat more planned (gender stereotypes). I wouldn't consider either of them a fantastic success, but they could have been a lot worse; and frankly, it was good just to be doing something useful.
I don't know what the Spanish for 'lesson planning' is. I'm beginning to think that there isn't a direct translation because the concept doesn't appear to exist over here. It would be very interesting to see the outcomes if some of the teachers did CELTA!
I'm putting together a Valencia 2017 Spotify playlist. So far I have 'Que Sera Sera' by Doris Day and 'Ain't Your Mama' by J Lo. So if you've used any songs in your lessons then let me know. I'm sure we'll end up with an eclectic mix.
Saturday 18 February 2017
Paper Plates!
The sun is shining and I am running around town looking for
paper plates. Why am I looking for paper plates? Materials to be used in a lesson
activity on prefixes and suffixes. I have been to ‘Super China’ which sells
every object ever made in China stuffed onto shelves. It was here I found lollipop sticks which I
have used in other lessons. Which is why I thought this would be a good stop
for paper plates. Alas! Not so as the trend appears to be plastic plates and
this is no use to me as I need students to be able to write on the plates. My
next stop is the Vidal supermarket where the lovely young cashier always greets me a polite and formal Buenos Dias. Again no
paper plates to be found. I can’t spend all my spare time looking for class
material. I am going to have to improvise as I have lessons to prepare for and
a busy day on Thursday leaving little time to prepare for lessons on Friday. If
I don’t prepare, knowing myself as I do, I will get myself into a tizzy and be
stressed out and not sleep well.
One observed lesson over and done with earlier in the week.
This went surprisingly well. The students, listened, understood the activities,
spoke English and were positively engaged. I even managed to impress the
teacher who was observing so much she took a video of one of the activities in
full swing. The rest of my lessons for this week appear to have gone downhill. Classroom management seems to have escaped me;
students don’t comprehend the task in hand which leaves me re-explaining everything
as I monitor the class. Lack of materials; it took me nearly 40 minutes to
print a sheet of A4 containing games material and technology not working. Not
to mention no paper plates! This afternoon all my students kept on quizzing me
for the word they were searching for in Spanish. I think they genuinely thought
I was Spanish guest speaker who spoke English like a native! Once again I have
evaluated and am working on solutions to the issues. Hopefully this will make
next week’s lessons easier.
Friday 17 February 2017
Midwayalready!
Hi all
Still havin´a ball and doing some teaching in between! No repeat of the foray into Laura´s swimming pool though as much cooler weather this week! Brr!
Following on from two successful lessons on conditionals with B1 and B2 classes on Monday, it was back into three evenings of CEFIRE teacher training sessions in Valencia. This is a real privilege to be able to interact and learn from Spanish teachers as well as help them improve their level of English. Their ideas for lesson activities range from the incredibly simple but effective to the more technologically brilliant but equally effective so benefitting all of us. This week after more 2:1 sessions, the focus moved to 5:1 team sessions led by all the native speakers in which the Spanish teachers have to work together to devise some activities for a lesson topic basedon a context and delivered using a specific grammar point. My group have to create teaching resources on the five senses for 2nd primary level and are using "like/dislike" as the grammar point. This week was a brainstorming session. Next Thursday the group has to prepare a short PowerPoint presentation to showcase their ideas with each team member to devise and speak about two activities. Presentations will be delivered to the whole CEFIRE group in the final session. This is a really exciting initiative to be part of and I´m learning as much as I´m sharing with others.
As I type this, it is now 16:45 on Friday afternoon and 15 minutes from my next A" class. We will again focus on celebration with a focus on usage of the vocabulary as well as speaking which builds on last weeks lesson. This will be followed by a B1 class on likes and dislikes and a B2 class preparing for Cambridge exams so covering writing essays and magazine articles. More to follow later folks!
It is now 20:15 and all three lessons safely and successfully delivered! I loved each lesson for different reasons. My A2 class organised a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate the end of their exams;and I thought I had big ideas! Then with my B2 class we explored how to write a good essay and discussed structure, form and I encouraged the use of adjectives and adverbs. This was a little tricky in places but I think I handled the lesson quite well. Then my B1 class was the icing on a great, three tiered Friday cake of lessons in which students were sat in two rows of three. I asked questions about leisure and spending habits which students discussed in pairs then feedback via mime or by giving clues to the class depending on the question! This was really funny at times and we ate much chocolate too!! The miming was especially funny. With each new question so the students moved one place clockwise and so spoke with a new person each time. This worked very well. I´m now off for a well deserved beer. I leave Schola Academy tonight a very happy bunny!! Cheers!!
Still havin´a ball and doing some teaching in between! No repeat of the foray into Laura´s swimming pool though as much cooler weather this week! Brr!
Following on from two successful lessons on conditionals with B1 and B2 classes on Monday, it was back into three evenings of CEFIRE teacher training sessions in Valencia. This is a real privilege to be able to interact and learn from Spanish teachers as well as help them improve their level of English. Their ideas for lesson activities range from the incredibly simple but effective to the more technologically brilliant but equally effective so benefitting all of us. This week after more 2:1 sessions, the focus moved to 5:1 team sessions led by all the native speakers in which the Spanish teachers have to work together to devise some activities for a lesson topic basedon a context and delivered using a specific grammar point. My group have to create teaching resources on the five senses for 2nd primary level and are using "like/dislike" as the grammar point. This week was a brainstorming session. Next Thursday the group has to prepare a short PowerPoint presentation to showcase their ideas with each team member to devise and speak about two activities. Presentations will be delivered to the whole CEFIRE group in the final session. This is a really exciting initiative to be part of and I´m learning as much as I´m sharing with others.
As I type this, it is now 16:45 on Friday afternoon and 15 minutes from my next A" class. We will again focus on celebration with a focus on usage of the vocabulary as well as speaking which builds on last weeks lesson. This will be followed by a B1 class on likes and dislikes and a B2 class preparing for Cambridge exams so covering writing essays and magazine articles. More to follow later folks!
It is now 20:15 and all three lessons safely and successfully delivered! I loved each lesson for different reasons. My A2 class organised a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate the end of their exams;and I thought I had big ideas! Then with my B2 class we explored how to write a good essay and discussed structure, form and I encouraged the use of adjectives and adverbs. This was a little tricky in places but I think I handled the lesson quite well. Then my B1 class was the icing on a great, three tiered Friday cake of lessons in which students were sat in two rows of three. I asked questions about leisure and spending habits which students discussed in pairs then feedback via mime or by giving clues to the class depending on the question! This was really funny at times and we ate much chocolate too!! The miming was especially funny. With each new question so the students moved one place clockwise and so spoke with a new person each time. This worked very well. I´m now off for a well deserved beer. I leave Schola Academy tonight a very happy bunny!! Cheers!!
Two
This week I have helped 14 year olds to learn computer vocabulary, I have 'debated' with 16 year olds (aka the brick walls of education) about the perceptions of social media. I have had gin cocktails in a bar called 'Quatro Monos', and Lebanese food in 'Zaitune' with a friend of mine who lives here.
I have walked and walked, and I have almost finished my book. (1 of 2 with me). I haven't chatted to the locals too much, but yesterday I met one guy who asked me to take his photo. I will add it to the end of this post.
Shorts worn so far: 1. People who asked me why the f*** I was wearing shorts: 4.
Today's agenda looks like lesson planning, postcard writing and pasta eating till 2pm. At 3 I am going for lunch with two Spanish and one French teacher I have met through CEFIRE. This week I will be heading to one of their schools to give them a presentation to the Bach class about Wales; not where I am from, but where I live.
I will also be going to a primary school to help with the little ones. (I wanted to be working with them in my school, but I was given a different placement.) I am looking forward to it not only because of them, or because I will meet -and hopefully make friends with- their Welsh classroom assistant, but because I think it shows that if you have the drive, you really can make this an enriching experience; full variety and value, and that's all I'm after.
Don't keep on keeping on. Grab life by the balls.
Alice
I have walked and walked, and I have almost finished my book. (1 of 2 with me). I haven't chatted to the locals too much, but yesterday I met one guy who asked me to take his photo. I will add it to the end of this post.
Shorts worn so far: 1. People who asked me why the f*** I was wearing shorts: 4.
Today's agenda looks like lesson planning, postcard writing and pasta eating till 2pm. At 3 I am going for lunch with two Spanish and one French teacher I have met through CEFIRE. This week I will be heading to one of their schools to give them a presentation to the Bach class about Wales; not where I am from, but where I live.
I will also be going to a primary school to help with the little ones. (I wanted to be working with them in my school, but I was given a different placement.) I am looking forward to it not only because of them, or because I will meet -and hopefully make friends with- their Welsh classroom assistant, but because I think it shows that if you have the drive, you really can make this an enriching experience; full variety and value, and that's all I'm after.
Don't keep on keeping on. Grab life by the balls.
Alice
Wednesday 15 February 2017
Time flies. I can't believe that week two is practically over!
My observed lesson was last Monday. The lesson was meant for the Terceros and focused on Fashion, adverbs of emphasis and negative prefixes. The students were very proud to say that Spain is very liberal in this respect and there are no restrictive laws as far as fashion is concerned.
Despite having invested more in the class preparations for Monday, Blanca (my host teacher) enjoyed much more my Tuesday lessons where there was a song involved. I had quite an interesting experience preparing for this lesson due to one my flatmate's sceptic interventions. I had chosen Doris Day's, Che Sera Sera, in order to give the students a flavour of the Anglo-Saxon culture and an entertaining way to practice the reported speech. All the girls loved the song and they could not stop singing.
Since during the first week I had been very ill, I could not even go to a café near the school to relax, but this week I did! I discovered
a wonderful café. In just a week, I have become a regular. I wouldn't recommend the diced tomatoes on the grilled baguette, there are far better savoury snacks. The café serves also good quality green tea, which relieves my poor damaged throat during the breaks. I love starting the first drafts of my lesson in this café. I already know that I will miss most of the classes and the café, but I continue reminding myself what I learned during my Yoga sessions: just enjoy the moment and don't think about anything else.
All this said, whoever reads this blog, does not need to be jealous. I have still not recovered from my flu and have been ill since we arrived in Spain. I should have been firmer with the bus driver regarding the air con. Even when I am at my best, it knocks me down, let alone when I am exhausted after 3 am and 5 am wake ups!
Tuesday 14 February 2017
Hi everyone from warm and sunny Moncada! "I can see clearly now the rain has gone!"
Wow what a fantastic first week! Schola is just the best school ever and the teachers without exception, warm, friendly and so supportive! The week began with some team teaching with Veronica and Ivona´s B1 & B2 classes which was great fun with students eager to learn and to please. Veronica´s class were working on a project about the environment so my role was to help improve vocabulary and lexis. Ivona only had one student but we had some fantastic discussions about education and what we both liked and disliked about being at school! Thrown board rubbers and detentions featured greatly in our discussion!
The CEFIRE project which offers training to Spanish teachers of English and other subjects in Valencia on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays takes up most of the first fortnight of my placement with Marc, Jonathan, Hazel, Laura and Alice. Oana is a fantastic teacher and mentor to us all and her briefing sessions leave us confident to execute the 1:1, 2:1 and 5:1 discussions with teachers in each session. It is both a privilege and great fun learning of their classroom experiences and also some of their fantastic ideas for lesson activities and behaviour management. CEFIRE really is a win-win situation and so wonderful to be part of this. I have even taken a dip into my landlady´s swimming pool! I have to concede this was a little chilly but soon got used to it for around 20 lengths despite the sub 50 degree temperature of the water!
My first week ended with my assessed speaking lesson on celebrations. I was initally a little disappointed with how I felt this had gone because I´m one of those darned perfectionists LOL!! On reflection however, whilst conceding the obvious room for improvement, I think I acquitted myself well with my A2 class, graded my language better as the lesson progressed and engaged all three students in discussion throughout, about the various images displayed during the lesson. One of them evening correctly identified the Gloucester cheese rolling festival! I then encouraged them to tell me about the Fire Festival next month and the great tomato fight that is 'La Tomatina'!! I soooo want to go to this festival! Sometimes even my own creativity just isn´t enough (I have made some mock tomatoes out of stuffed fabric to use in some classes)!! This has worked a treat as an end of lesson wind-down!! My lessons end in mayhem... sometimes!! The A2 students asked loads of questions too so that can´t be a bad thing and suggests they were engaged throughout so all in all a good start.
Saturday morning brought two observed B1/B2 Intensive classes with the delightful Araceli who is busy preparing them for their Cambridge speaking exams. Once again I helped with vocabulary and meaning with a much larger group of students despite being a few minutes late having just missed an earlier metro train from Masies! I have repented of my sins and said more hail Mary´s than a parson can preach about and think I´ve been forgiven LOL! The rest of the weekend was mixed. Saturday afternoon I went food shopping and spent some time with Hazel and Jemima before employing my culinary skills to prepare a spicy chicken, pork and chorizo stew with aubergine, red pepper, courgette, onion and tomatoes. Even though I say so myself it was very YUM!!! A San Miguel and a gin or two was the icing on the cake!!
Sunday was a different story however due to my own inept geography and map-reading skills!! I got up early, intending to join the 11am Eucharist at the Anglican Church in Valencia but having successfully negotiated the Metro and a number 89 bus to where I thought I should be, I then spent a further two and a half hours looking for the church which I was unable to find. In the end I conceded defeat (doesn't happen often LOL!) and got the metro back to Masies. If ever I´m stood in front of you teaching any geography you have my full permission to walk out LOL!!! This Sunday IT WILL BE DIFFERENT I HOPE!!!
As I entered the second week of a placement which is flying by too fast for my liking, I was determined to improve on my first taught lesson. However, Monday began with a pre-lunch CEFIRE briefing session with Oana followed by a break before teaching conditionals, imperatives and future time clauses to B1 and B2 classes in the evening. These went much more smoothly and I felt more confident in my delivery of both lessons. I even used the ice cream purchased that afternoon as realia to demonstrate the imperative "if the ice cream get´s warm, it melts"! Two great groups, fabulous interaction, Simon says, conversation using these granmmar points and an election campaign to boot - "If I´m elected, I will... (which elicited "I will recover Gibraltar for Spain" and "I will give a beer to everyone in Spain"!!)! Great fun! Confidence restored and loved it!
Today is a more gentle day so took my landlady´s gorgeous dog Thor for a walk this morning before a light lunch at the apartment and preparation for tonight´s CEFIRE session. As I finish typing this blog, the temperature is a balmy 17 degrees and I'm the happiest bunny in the whole wide world!! Who wouldn´t be on a day like this?! Thank you UKLC!
Wow what a fantastic first week! Schola is just the best school ever and the teachers without exception, warm, friendly and so supportive! The week began with some team teaching with Veronica and Ivona´s B1 & B2 classes which was great fun with students eager to learn and to please. Veronica´s class were working on a project about the environment so my role was to help improve vocabulary and lexis. Ivona only had one student but we had some fantastic discussions about education and what we both liked and disliked about being at school! Thrown board rubbers and detentions featured greatly in our discussion!
The CEFIRE project which offers training to Spanish teachers of English and other subjects in Valencia on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays takes up most of the first fortnight of my placement with Marc, Jonathan, Hazel, Laura and Alice. Oana is a fantastic teacher and mentor to us all and her briefing sessions leave us confident to execute the 1:1, 2:1 and 5:1 discussions with teachers in each session. It is both a privilege and great fun learning of their classroom experiences and also some of their fantastic ideas for lesson activities and behaviour management. CEFIRE really is a win-win situation and so wonderful to be part of this. I have even taken a dip into my landlady´s swimming pool! I have to concede this was a little chilly but soon got used to it for around 20 lengths despite the sub 50 degree temperature of the water!
My first week ended with my assessed speaking lesson on celebrations. I was initally a little disappointed with how I felt this had gone because I´m one of those darned perfectionists LOL!! On reflection however, whilst conceding the obvious room for improvement, I think I acquitted myself well with my A2 class, graded my language better as the lesson progressed and engaged all three students in discussion throughout, about the various images displayed during the lesson. One of them evening correctly identified the Gloucester cheese rolling festival! I then encouraged them to tell me about the Fire Festival next month and the great tomato fight that is 'La Tomatina'!! I soooo want to go to this festival! Sometimes even my own creativity just isn´t enough (I have made some mock tomatoes out of stuffed fabric to use in some classes)!! This has worked a treat as an end of lesson wind-down!! My lessons end in mayhem... sometimes!! The A2 students asked loads of questions too so that can´t be a bad thing and suggests they were engaged throughout so all in all a good start.
Saturday morning brought two observed B1/B2 Intensive classes with the delightful Araceli who is busy preparing them for their Cambridge speaking exams. Once again I helped with vocabulary and meaning with a much larger group of students despite being a few minutes late having just missed an earlier metro train from Masies! I have repented of my sins and said more hail Mary´s than a parson can preach about and think I´ve been forgiven LOL! The rest of the weekend was mixed. Saturday afternoon I went food shopping and spent some time with Hazel and Jemima before employing my culinary skills to prepare a spicy chicken, pork and chorizo stew with aubergine, red pepper, courgette, onion and tomatoes. Even though I say so myself it was very YUM!!! A San Miguel and a gin or two was the icing on the cake!!
Sunday was a different story however due to my own inept geography and map-reading skills!! I got up early, intending to join the 11am Eucharist at the Anglican Church in Valencia but having successfully negotiated the Metro and a number 89 bus to where I thought I should be, I then spent a further two and a half hours looking for the church which I was unable to find. In the end I conceded defeat (doesn't happen often LOL!) and got the metro back to Masies. If ever I´m stood in front of you teaching any geography you have my full permission to walk out LOL!!! This Sunday IT WILL BE DIFFERENT I HOPE!!!
As I entered the second week of a placement which is flying by too fast for my liking, I was determined to improve on my first taught lesson. However, Monday began with a pre-lunch CEFIRE briefing session with Oana followed by a break before teaching conditionals, imperatives and future time clauses to B1 and B2 classes in the evening. These went much more smoothly and I felt more confident in my delivery of both lessons. I even used the ice cream purchased that afternoon as realia to demonstrate the imperative "if the ice cream get´s warm, it melts"! Two great groups, fabulous interaction, Simon says, conversation using these granmmar points and an election campaign to boot - "If I´m elected, I will... (which elicited "I will recover Gibraltar for Spain" and "I will give a beer to everyone in Spain"!!)! Great fun! Confidence restored and loved it!
Today is a more gentle day so took my landlady´s gorgeous dog Thor for a walk this morning before a light lunch at the apartment and preparation for tonight´s CEFIRE session. As I finish typing this blog, the temperature is a balmy 17 degrees and I'm the happiest bunny in the whole wide world!! Who wouldn´t be on a day like this?! Thank you UKLC!
Sunday 12 February 2017
Back home for a week
I can't believe I have been back in the UK for a week! Looking back I think that it really took me three weeks to get into living and teaching in Spain but now I miss it. Memories of the cold of the first couple of weeks and the unruly behaviour of some of my classes are fading but I will not forget the friendliness of the teachers in my school or the camaraderie of the other participants on the programme. It was a fantastic opportunity. I feel that I heave learned a lot and am confident about teaching in future. Thank you UKLC and good luck to those of you who are now one week in!
End of week 1
I can't believe that this time last week we were on the coach from Alicante Airport heading north to the various drop-off points!!!
It's been a mixed week. The CEFIRE project is going well. All the teachers participating in it do so with enthusiasm and a lot of ideas have been shared, which is great for me. The numbers dropped from session 1 to session 2 and then session 3 which is a bit disappointing because it is a fantastic opportunity for them and Oana has put in so much hard work.
I finally attended Las Escuelas San José
on Thursday. Though it is an impressive size, my fears of having to cover vast distances to get from one lesson to another were allayed when I found that the building where vocational training takes place is manageable if walking at a decent pace. Dawdling is not an option! I was made to feel very welcome by my tutor Vincente, who has taken every opportunity to introduce me to the other staff members, and everyone is friendly. On Fridays during the pre-lunch recreo, a selection of food and drink (including beer) is put on in the teachers' room and everyone gets together for a chat.
Observing lessons has been an eye-opening (and at times, eye-watering) experience! Though the students are pleasant (I haven't witnessed any attitude being given to the teachers and there is a lot of jovial banter between them), the vast majority have absolutely no interest in learning English. They are doing courses in metalwork, robotics, electronics, energy efficiency, administration, and social integration. It comes across to me that the English classes they have to attend are a bit of an add-on with very little thought put into what they are going to be taught. The lessons have absolutely no structure to them, forget lead-in, receptive skills task, MFPA, controlled practice... Students talk incessantly throughout. Me going silent, raising an arm, light housing etc. in order to get them to quieten down just isn't going to cut it. So far I have witnessed the teacher throwing a stapler to the floor and kicking the side of the wooden platform at the front of the room for attention. I could go on about other issues but I won't.
To end on a positive note, I spent yesterday walking around Valencia with Laura. I like the city; it has a relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps it isn't the most beautiful in Spain, but it does have its highlights. I was impressed by the Mercado Central and the Jardines del Turia, while the architecture around the Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias is breath taking! I will definitely be going back at night when everything is illuminated.
It is still good to be here ☺
One week in
A week into the stay in Moncada now and settling in. Michael from UKLC joined us at 4.30 am in Manky as we went for our flight and Amy and the team here have all been really helpful and well-coordinated too since our arrival. Enjoying the orange trees everywhere and elegant doorways of the houses as dash around this suburb of Valencia. It has been very interesting to take part in the CEFIRE project to support English teachers in schools across the region, and a privilege to meet the many teachers involved, learning about the challenges of their environment in the local primary and secondary schools and the requirements of their own professional training. Meanwhile, have also been mainly observing my classes at Schola for this first week, where all the tutors have been delightful and very welcoming, with the amazing Oana at the lead for those of us assisting with CEFIRE too. After settling into the apartment, am now focusing on lesson planning for Schola and on getting to know speaking exam assessment criteria for the students' upcoming exams later in March. Yesterday it was two lively classes with the B1s and B2s both grappling with conditionals, and being impressed by how much the students are obviously very motivated and eager to practice their English more...
Saturday 11 February 2017
School Days
On the first day I was shown around the school. The next day I was told I would be teaching a lesson.
Only had an hour to plan my lesson, talk about being thrown into the lions den. It was no lions den, it was fun.
Four lessons this week!!
"You are awesome Angela"
Not my words but the words of my students. 🙂
Only had an hour to plan my lesson, talk about being thrown into the lions den. It was no lions den, it was fun.
Four lessons this week!!
"You are awesome Angela"
Not my words but the words of my students. 🙂
On Monday I ventured
onto the metro system and went to Moncada district of Valencia and attended the offices of Schola. There we learned about the mysterious acronym
‘CIFIRE’ which was showing on our on our evening timetables and what we have
been quizzing each other about for information. Basically CIFIRE is a teacher
training body in Spain. And where do we come in? Firstly, all teachers
regardless of subject are required to have a minimum level of intermediate standard
of English. For those who qualified some years ago English will not have been a
priority and we are here to assist and improve their language ability by
attending this course. Secondly, the overall standard of English has improved
in schools due to the fact that English is taught from a much earlier age than
previously. It is very popular and we are kicking off with short introductions
and a Pub Quiz in which participation is compulsory.
Then on Tuesday feeling like a five year old, excited and
nervous I headed off for my first day of school. My nerves disappeared as soon
as I realised how truly pleasant and kind all the teachers were. I observed classes and the kids were all reasonably well
behaved. This as it turned out was a misconception on my part. As during the
last 10 minutes of the third class a teacher came in and said something in
Spanish. This announcement was followed by a heated debate of pupils arguing a
point with their tutor. Backwards and forwards it went, with students jabbering
away at each other. I finally found out that the argument was due to extremely
bad behaviour the week before and consequently the class was being denied break
time.
Friday two of my classes did not happen as a number of
students were sitting exams. So I was asked to take a class and do a reading
comprehension with another class. (Which I had not planned for) I was happy to accept. I’ll admit this was not
my best lesson but I have evaluated. Notes to self are: 1 follow the pattern of preaching vocabulary as
I could see this caused the students a few problems. 2 Iron out the small segments of dead time 3
Be clear on instruction even when written in the book. Oh! and as this is a
modern school the class didn’t have paper to make notes with…….Roll on next
week for some more teaching!
Thursday 9 February 2017
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
It was a pre-dawn dash to catch that bus to the airport last Sunday to leave Moncada at the end of this placement. As the sun rose on our final morning in Valencia it was time to reflect. The landscape on the journey, to Alicante Airports was dramatically mountainous on occasions. The sunrise spotlighted in pink the clearly stratified layers of coloured rock and the steep cliffs. A great location for The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (circa 1966). No sign of Clint, but here's my circa 2017 version....
Getting to know good people within the team and without was the best. Big hearted people whose lives you cross paths with for that brief moment in time and who respond with a generosity of spirit that is unforgettable and forges friendships.
Once in a lifetime experience based on an amalgamation of time, place, people, actions and processes that could never be replicated.
One month only. Too short for some, too long for others.
Days of January bathed in beautiful sunlight and bringing welcome warmth to your skin.
'Beam me up Scotty' moments that came in the middle. We all had them.
A cold snap, the likes of which hasn't been seen for 20 years.
Dat one glass too many!
Uncertainty
Grammar
Lesson planning overload
Yet another early morning start!
Would I do it again?.....YES!
Would I recommend it to others?.......YES!
It was a pre-dawn dash to catch that bus to the airport last Sunday to leave Moncada at the end of this placement. As the sun rose on our final morning in Valencia it was time to reflect. The landscape on the journey, to Alicante Airports was dramatically mountainous on occasions. The sunrise spotlighted in pink the clearly stratified layers of coloured rock and the steep cliffs. A great location for The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (circa 1966). No sign of Clint, but here's my circa 2017 version....
Getting to know good people within the team and without was the best. Big hearted people whose lives you cross paths with for that brief moment in time and who respond with a generosity of spirit that is unforgettable and forges friendships.
Once in a lifetime experience based on an amalgamation of time, place, people, actions and processes that could never be replicated.
One month only. Too short for some, too long for others.
Days of January bathed in beautiful sunlight and bringing welcome warmth to your skin.
'Beam me up Scotty' moments that came in the middle. We all had them.
A cold snap, the likes of which hasn't been seen for 20 years.
Dat one glass too many!
Uncertainty
Grammar
Lesson planning overload
Yet another early morning start!
Would I do it again?.....YES!
Would I recommend it to others?.......YES!
Wednesday 8 February 2017
Land of Oranges and ESL
For whatever reason I was both anxious and excited about our first week in Valencia. However, from the onset it was a fabulous trip. I bumped into Jonathan before boarding the train in London and we met Mark at the airport in Manchester. It was also enjoyable travelling with the UKLC group. It just reminded me of an episode of Are You Being Served, particularly when the security people refused to let go of Angela's shoes.
The UKLC hosts (Alicia, Mampa and Amy) in Valencia have also been fantastic. They accompanied all of us to our residences with a bag of food to keep us going on our first day.
I had an early start on Monday and had to wake up before 6 am to make it to the school on time. Alicia was waiting for me in front of the school at 7:55 am and accompanied me inside and introduced me to my host teacher Blanca. Blanca has really been nice and helpful throughout. She has given me a free hand for preparing my classes, and has just indicated to me the lessons she has covered and those which she wishes to cover in the coming days.
The ancient Greeks believed that all cannot be good, or otherwise the gods would strike us with a thunderbolt. Therefore, I had to get ill and lose my voice right after my first day of teaching. Again the UKLC team and their Spanish counterparts were fantastic. Amy and Mampa took me to a Clinic where a doctor saw me within 20 minutes. I am now on medication and was told that my voice should return within 4 days.
It's a pity as I really enjoyed the school, watching and teaching the children (even the noisy Segundo) and interacting with the teachers in my bastardised Spanish which they all detect to be Italian after the second word!
I can't wait to take the stage and be in front of the students. I just need to find an entertaining song in order to strike a deal with the students and reward them when they behave (particularly the Segundo).
One
Welcome to Valencia
We have now been in Valencia for 4 days. My week so far summarises as a long list of little adventures. The euphoric feeling of quitting my bar job in Cardiff to become a teacher, the mental battle I have everyday about weather or not it's acceptable for me to wear shorts yet (Shorts worn so far: 0), and the pure bliss of walking round a place that you have never been to before, where zebra crossings and cafe menus become little tasks for you to work out, hopefully without ****ing it up.
I have been abroad before, but there is something both sweet and bitter sweet about this particular trip. The fact that it is so fantastic is uplifting, I am in a place where I can live like I am on holiday, early morning walks to the beach and sauntering around parks with my camera, but it doesn't feel like my life has paused so I can do and enjoy these things; the life that I want to live is just starting.
As uplifting as this is, I find myself falling back down again when I remember that it will be short-lived. I've met some great people here, and part of me could see myself continuing the experience outside of UKLC, so it's a shame to know that in 4 weeks it's back to 'sunny' (it's not sunny) Cardiff to sort my life out. Yet this time limit can be inspirational; when you have a time-limit to events in your life you want to live every minute like it's the last one, although I do prefer the term coined in 'Dodgeball' (Nope, it's not "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball"), it's "grab life by the balls." And that's just what I'm gonna do...
Catchya later,
Alice x
We have now been in Valencia for 4 days. My week so far summarises as a long list of little adventures. The euphoric feeling of quitting my bar job in Cardiff to become a teacher, the mental battle I have everyday about weather or not it's acceptable for me to wear shorts yet (Shorts worn so far: 0), and the pure bliss of walking round a place that you have never been to before, where zebra crossings and cafe menus become little tasks for you to work out, hopefully without ****ing it up.
I have been abroad before, but there is something both sweet and bitter sweet about this particular trip. The fact that it is so fantastic is uplifting, I am in a place where I can live like I am on holiday, early morning walks to the beach and sauntering around parks with my camera, but it doesn't feel like my life has paused so I can do and enjoy these things; the life that I want to live is just starting.
As uplifting as this is, I find myself falling back down again when I remember that it will be short-lived. I've met some great people here, and part of me could see myself continuing the experience outside of UKLC, so it's a shame to know that in 4 weeks it's back to 'sunny' (it's not sunny) Cardiff to sort my life out. Yet this time limit can be inspirational; when you have a time-limit to events in your life you want to live every minute like it's the last one, although I do prefer the term coined in 'Dodgeball' (Nope, it's not "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball"), it's "grab life by the balls." And that's just what I'm gonna do...
Catchya later,
Alice x
Tuesday 7 February 2017
memories as I get on with my job search
What an all-round interesting time I had in Gandía, despite the cold and carrying heavy books around and sometimes feeling that I was trying to rediscover the wheel with my learning plans. Daunting at first, but you do settle in to a place and get to know the students, especially in the smaller classes. On the whole it was such a valuable experience, being able to take part in lessons across a broad range of learning levels, getting to know what it feels like to be in a classroom full of students, along with the necessities of classroom management (possibly the most demanding skill). When a lesson plan works teaching becomes such fun and when I can develop a good rapport with a class it's so rewarding. The work experience in Gandía has broadened my understanding of what it takes to teach and I'm encouraged to find work where I can carry on learning. So here I am back in London, registered with Protocol and geared up for a job search that includes online teaching, possibly some voluntary work and hopefully an ESOL placement in further education. And maybe later, back to Spain.
Very many thanks to UKLC for organising this Erasmus+ project.
Very many thanks to UKLC for organising this Erasmus+ project.
Y Viva Espana!
I just can´t believe I´m here in fabulous Moncada on a beautiful sunny morning preparing to start teaching CEFIRE to native teachers looking to improve their English and teaching methods. Living in such a beautiful apartment with access to a swimming pool is bliss though the water is quite cold! Schola school is just the best ever! All the staff are so, warm, friendly, supportive and encouraging which makes the whole experience, a marriage made in Heaven. Thank you UKLC! The journey here from the UK also provided a three hour sightseeing tour of Valenciana as we safely delivered the Erasmusers to their accommodation which was a good way of getting your bearings unless like me you get lost easily!! Then yesterday we had our first briefing session with the wonderful Oana ahead of our first CEFIRE session today in which we will have a series of ten minute 1:1 sessions with the teachers on the course as part of a ten session project. We also met course director Paco who was also lovely and explained his hopes for the CEFIRE initiative and his expectations of all of us. Then last evening I did a bit of team teaching with small groups of B1 and B2 level teens who are working on a climate change project. This was great fun developing their vocabulary and sentence construction with much warmth and humour in the process! You know me! The last session was 90 minutes with only one student but what a treat. He was great fun and again I was able to develop his vocabulary, language use, syntax and pronunciation in discussing our experiences of education. I even shared the time when I was at school and threw a blackboard rubber back at the teacher who threw it at me because he thought I wasn´t paying attention LOL!! We all had a good laugh about this and my student also told some great tales from his own classroom experiences in what was a lovely lesson.
I´m so grateful to Ivona and Veronica for the feeedom they gave me to interact with students in my first lessons from which I´ve drawn loads of confidence! Thank you both!It has been a fabulous first day. Now for CEFIRE! The stakes are raised! Good luck everyone in whatever today holds for you!! Mucho amor! X
I just can´t believe I´m here in fabulous Moncada on a beautiful sunny morning preparing to start teaching CEFIRE to native teachers looking to improve their English and teaching methods. Living in such a beautiful apartment with access to a swimming pool is bliss though the water is quite cold! Schola school is just the best ever! All the staff are so, warm, friendly, supportive and encouraging which makes the whole experience, a marriage made in Heaven. Thank you UKLC! The journey here from the UK also provided a three hour sightseeing tour of Valenciana as we safely delivered the Erasmusers to their accommodation which was a good way of getting your bearings unless like me you get lost easily!! Then yesterday we had our first briefing session with the wonderful Oana ahead of our first CEFIRE session today in which we will have a series of ten minute 1:1 sessions with the teachers on the course as part of a ten session project. We also met course director Paco who was also lovely and explained his hopes for the CEFIRE initiative and his expectations of all of us. Then last evening I did a bit of team teaching with small groups of B1 and B2 level teens who are working on a climate change project. This was great fun developing their vocabulary and sentence construction with much warmth and humour in the process! You know me! The last session was 90 minutes with only one student but what a treat. He was great fun and again I was able to develop his vocabulary, language use, syntax and pronunciation in discussing our experiences of education. I even shared the time when I was at school and threw a blackboard rubber back at the teacher who threw it at me because he thought I wasn´t paying attention LOL!! We all had a good laugh about this and my student also told some great tales from his own classroom experiences in what was a lovely lesson.
I´m so grateful to Ivona and Veronica for the feeedom they gave me to interact with students in my first lessons from which I´ve drawn loads of confidence! Thank you both!It has been a fabulous first day. Now for CEFIRE! The stakes are raised! Good luck everyone in whatever today holds for you!! Mucho amor! X
Monday 6 February 2017
Hasta Las Fallas!
As I sit at my computer, with my family dog at my feet, a cup of propa' English tea at my side and the central heating on full blast I finally have time to reflect on the past month.
I know one thing; I haven't written nearly as many blogs as I should have but time, like everything in life, slips away.
As I look back I am filled with a warm glow for the memories I hold and the experiences I have gained. Don't get me wrong, there have been many ups and downs. There have been times when I felt frustrated; like during the useless 'game theory' training afternoon where really, we could have spent the time more productively actually learning how to play games rather than the partial theory behind them. Or was that zero? Full? I'm confused?
There have been times where I have felt lonely. Eating lunch in a canteen where no one is willing to speak to you, even with your best Spanish efforts, can be a little isolating. Or, living so far from everyone else on the Erasmus that you only see them once a week or running out of the door to their school as you get in.
And, there have been times where I felt cold, very, very cold in my dark and horribly utilitarian flat.
But, there is a big 'but', the incredible people I have met on this journey totally outweigh any bad feelings I may have felt. The teachers, the kids, and the nuns at my school exude positive and loving energy that is so infectious that I left every day feeling more and more assured that this is the path I am destined to follow as a career. Endless hugs, kisses and "Eeeeehello" is something I will miss as I journey onto my next adventure. My tutor Maria and the Prim Sports teacher Gloria totally took me under their wings and made my whole experience exceptional- not only teaching me a lot about EFL teaching, but also introducing me to Spanish BBQs, cheap beer and some great locals that I now consider friends.
As, I round up this blog for the last time I cannot avoid mentioning the thing that has made this whole experience, as my tutor would say, INCREDIBLE - The others on this January Erasmus. An amazing group of individuals who bring unrelenting laughter, loving support and positive energy (even in their darkest hours) to every meet up and night out. It has been amazing to watch the blossoming of friendships in such different individuals and, be part of it myself. I feel truly blessed to now call them my friends and thank UKCL for bringing us together.
This is not good bye from me but rather Hasta Las Fallas Amigos!
xxx
I know one thing; I haven't written nearly as many blogs as I should have but time, like everything in life, slips away.
As I look back I am filled with a warm glow for the memories I hold and the experiences I have gained. Don't get me wrong, there have been many ups and downs. There have been times when I felt frustrated; like during the useless 'game theory' training afternoon where really, we could have spent the time more productively actually learning how to play games rather than the partial theory behind them. Or was that zero? Full? I'm confused?
There have been times where I have felt lonely. Eating lunch in a canteen where no one is willing to speak to you, even with your best Spanish efforts, can be a little isolating. Or, living so far from everyone else on the Erasmus that you only see them once a week or running out of the door to their school as you get in.
And, there have been times where I felt cold, very, very cold in my dark and horribly utilitarian flat.
But, there is a big 'but', the incredible people I have met on this journey totally outweigh any bad feelings I may have felt. The teachers, the kids, and the nuns at my school exude positive and loving energy that is so infectious that I left every day feeling more and more assured that this is the path I am destined to follow as a career. Endless hugs, kisses and "Eeeeehello" is something I will miss as I journey onto my next adventure. My tutor Maria and the Prim Sports teacher Gloria totally took me under their wings and made my whole experience exceptional- not only teaching me a lot about EFL teaching, but also introducing me to Spanish BBQs, cheap beer and some great locals that I now consider friends.
As, I round up this blog for the last time I cannot avoid mentioning the thing that has made this whole experience, as my tutor would say, INCREDIBLE - The others on this January Erasmus. An amazing group of individuals who bring unrelenting laughter, loving support and positive energy (even in their darkest hours) to every meet up and night out. It has been amazing to watch the blossoming of friendships in such different individuals and, be part of it myself. I feel truly blessed to now call them my friends and thank UKCL for bringing us together.
This is not good bye from me but rather Hasta Las Fallas Amigos!
xxx
First impressions
So cold, so very, very cold. We've had to eat the last of the huskies. Sorry, wrong blog!!!
We're just over 24 hours into our Spanish adventure and I'm really enjoying it so far. As I write this it's 17 degrees and the sun is out. It's certainly better than the UK (I've checked!) Moncada seems to be a very pleasant place to live, though I haven't yet explored it fully. There will be plenty of time for that as I have been fortunate with the timetable given to me. The apartment is of a good size, clean, and well-furnished. Yesterday night's meal was tapas...hopefully the first of many, and today, a bocadillo de tortilla de patatas that would have satisfied the mightiest of appetites.
We have been introduced to more lovely people: Alicia and Mampa at Spanish2enjoy; Oana and Laura at Schola; and Paco at CEFIRE. Also, a big thank you to Michael who ensured that we all got on the plane at Manchester Airport! Tomorrow night is the first CEFIRE session where we'll be helping Spanish teachers improve their English language skills and teaching skills. The first part is fine, let's see how the second part pans out. I'm hoping to visit my school (San José)
tomorrow so I can meet the tutor and observe a few lessons.
I've even been able to speak a little bit of Spanish (emphasis on 'little bit'). Todo está
bien 👍
Wednesday 1 February 2017
Downs and ups
Yesterday was hard going. My 1st Gestion class couldn't (or refused to) respond to "What are you wearing?" and generally gave the impression that they knew no English at all. My 4 ESO were uncooperative and sullen. My 2 ESO were just noisy and wouldn't try to speak English (though they were better on a reading task).
What a difference from today! By the end of today's teaching I felt that this must be one of the best jobs in the world! My 1 Gestion class (the same one as yesterday) picked up on the ideas from "What was the last thing you read?" (taken from our course in Chester) and even managed the pronunciation of "read" distinguishing "to read a book" from "I have read a book". For my 1 ESO class I was asked not to do the lesson I had prepared but to get the students ready for a visit by an Australian Olympic athlete who is coming to the school next week. I elicited lots of different Olympic sports while I was frantically trying to think what to do next, and the whole class went well.
In my free period I had really interesting chats with three teachers (a PE teacher, an infants teacher and another whose subject I can't remember (science, I think) but I now know that she has been at the same school for 29 years and loves her job).
One of my 4 ESO classes (not the same one as yesterday) got really engaged with the topic of good and bad manners and came up with lots of ideas. I have done this subject with other classes and it always seems to work. And my last class of the day was my observed lesson, with another 4 ESO class. Alex, their regular teacher, had told them that I was having an "important examination" and the students were astonishingly well behaved. They answered questions and even spoke to each other in pairs in English. At the end several of them came up to wish me good luck. By 2pm I felt I had had a worthwhile day.
So to celebrate and having the afternoon free, after an unusually good lunch at school, I got the bus to the beach and had a walk there. Now that the weather is getting milder even Gandia is growing on me!
What a difference from today! By the end of today's teaching I felt that this must be one of the best jobs in the world! My 1 Gestion class (the same one as yesterday) picked up on the ideas from "What was the last thing you read?" (taken from our course in Chester) and even managed the pronunciation of "read" distinguishing "to read a book" from "I have read a book". For my 1 ESO class I was asked not to do the lesson I had prepared but to get the students ready for a visit by an Australian Olympic athlete who is coming to the school next week. I elicited lots of different Olympic sports while I was frantically trying to think what to do next, and the whole class went well.
In my free period I had really interesting chats with three teachers (a PE teacher, an infants teacher and another whose subject I can't remember (science, I think) but I now know that she has been at the same school for 29 years and loves her job).
One of my 4 ESO classes (not the same one as yesterday) got really engaged with the topic of good and bad manners and came up with lots of ideas. I have done this subject with other classes and it always seems to work. And my last class of the day was my observed lesson, with another 4 ESO class. Alex, their regular teacher, had told them that I was having an "important examination" and the students were astonishingly well behaved. They answered questions and even spoke to each other in pairs in English. At the end several of them came up to wish me good luck. By 2pm I felt I had had a worthwhile day.
So to celebrate and having the afternoon free, after an unusually good lunch at school, I got the bus to the beach and had a walk there. Now that the weather is getting milder even Gandia is growing on me!
Sunday 29 January 2017
Thoughts on Spain and teaching
Now there's just one week left I thought I'd make a few observations on Spain and teaching, in no particular order.
- Can an economist tell me why electricity is expensive in Spain? It doesn't seem to make sense that they are so concerned about not using heating etc. because of the cost.
- Is it just our flat, or is it normal that you can't use, for example, the heater, the oven and the kettle at the same time without the electricity tripping out?
- How do noisy, ill-disciplined Spanish teenagers turn into the friendliest, most helpful people you could wish to meet (if the teachers in my school are anything to go by)? Is there a magical transformation at the age of 20?
- I have had a few lessons cancelled because students have been doing exams. If we are in exam season would our placements be better at a different time of year?
- People with much more TEFL experience than us have put a lot of effort into producing coursebooks. Most (but not all) of my ESO classes follow the Mosaic books which seem to me to be really good. The teacher's guides in particular give useful ideas as to how to use the material. My own ideas rarely come up to these standards and I have found myself more and more sticking to the coursebooks. It saves preparation time too.
- It seems that the teachers have to get though a lot of material in a given number of weeks including specific grammar and vocabulary as set out in the coursebook. I wonder whether my presence sometimes makes life more difficult for them as I am trying to use a different approach.
- If the life of a teacher at school is teaching at school and preparing lessons all evening and weekend, just squeezing in time for food and rest, I'm not sure that it is for me.
- It seems to me that a lot of the techniques we learned on our CELTA courses and in Chester are not practical in a packed Spanish classroom. Just getting a class to stand up, sit down and turn round creates mayhem. As soon as they moved the students started yelling to their friends (in Spanish of course) as if it was the end of the lesson.
- Often the Spanish teachers try to "help out" a lot by translating things into Spanish which is sometimes helpful but not if I am trying to get students to ask questions to work out what something means.
- Pinning down the teachers to discuss what I am to do next week (or a few days later) can be frustratingly difficult. I appreciate that they are busy / tired/ have to pick up their children but planning ahead doesn't seem to come into it. I have had a couple of occasions when I have started a lesson on an agreed topic or section of the coursebook only to find that the class has already done with their teacher a day or two before. We had to improvise.
- For 8 of my timetabled hours I start with 10 to 15 minutes with the PE teacher explaining what the students are going to do in their lesson, then I go to an English teacher to take over the lesson. This doesn't seem a very satisfactory arrangement to me. I can't tell how long I will have for my English lesson, and the Spanish English teacher can't really get going with anything else. I am happy to help the PE teacher, though, and he is keen to have more English in his classes. I now know much more about long jump, high jump and triple jump than before! He found it particularly helpful when I went though his questions for a Kahoot game and put some of them into better English.
- There are only two classes that I have twice a week. All the others I see just once a week. This means that I don't get much of a rapport with the students and I certainly haven't learned names. I asked teachers for lists of the names of students in some of my classes but I never got them.
- I am very glad that I had experience in a summer school last year, where I had the same class all week, got to know the students and was able to do some CELTA style games and activities. If teaching here in my school in Gandia had been my very first experience of teaching I would have been feeling very dispirited by now.
- It is interesting to see how students who have been taught in a different way can do grammar exercises but not put together a sentence in English. It shows the strengths of the CELTA methods.
- I am just hopeful that this month in Spain will look good on my CV. Otherwise I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives.
Into the last week ... where's the time gone?
Not so much lesson planning for the last week as most classes are revising for exams, so it's about helping with sentences for Kahoots! quiz questions and supervising the playing of games. The students love this way of revising! The infant end of the scale involves minimal planning and the observations reminds me of when I took my own children to nursery school. It's just a bit more modern, with digital whiteboards showing Super Simple Songs from the Internet. The Natural Science primary classes are working on projects that flow from one lesson to the next so the classes are mainly monitoring. Although lesson planning is challenging, I'm a little disappointed that I'm not challenged more.
Today I'm planning three lessons for the coming week for 6 Primary, with an aim to encourage as must speaking as possible. Last week I used Emile's story about The Barber of Paris, where the students have to listen to the story, recognise the pictures they've been given, and reconstruct the story with the pictures. That turned out to be a very engaging lesson with less Spanish spoken – the students had to listen too carefully to the story.
For the next lesson I used an idea from the British Council teaching resources about planning to write a story. The planning process would involve speaking and putting ideas on the board. That was a big success even though it ended up with students arguing passionately in Spanish about their preferences for horse-riding or a science fiction adventure. I'm planning to continue with the story ideas this week until everyone has written their own very short story, and somehow tie it in with the course book grammar and unit revision.
I think I wrote in my last blog entry about how impossible it is to stop students chatting in Spanish – they're doing what comes naturally. Smaller classes are a lot easier to manage unless there are one or two particularly disruptive kids, and then it's hugely challenging even for the experienced teachers. As far as lesson planning goes, I've had the best results with activities on paper, away from the iPads, where students were engaged with the language. At Los Naranjos the youngest children are learning English from when they are about two years old now. Other years began English later. Their teacher tells me that she's hoping those children will become more fluent very early on, and therefore more comfortable with English as they move on to higher classes, and maybe even chat in English!
Nice that the weather's been getting warmer. A teacher put a heater in the staff room last week and everyone was pleased! It's all true: Spanish schools are cold!
Lesson planning permitting I'll go to Valencia this afternoon. Looking forward to a bit of sightseeing and meeting up with whoever is around, and Michael who arrived yesterday to observe us all the coming week.
Today I'm planning three lessons for the coming week for 6 Primary, with an aim to encourage as must speaking as possible. Last week I used Emile's story about The Barber of Paris, where the students have to listen to the story, recognise the pictures they've been given, and reconstruct the story with the pictures. That turned out to be a very engaging lesson with less Spanish spoken – the students had to listen too carefully to the story.
For the next lesson I used an idea from the British Council teaching resources about planning to write a story. The planning process would involve speaking and putting ideas on the board. That was a big success even though it ended up with students arguing passionately in Spanish about their preferences for horse-riding or a science fiction adventure. I'm planning to continue with the story ideas this week until everyone has written their own very short story, and somehow tie it in with the course book grammar and unit revision.
I think I wrote in my last blog entry about how impossible it is to stop students chatting in Spanish – they're doing what comes naturally. Smaller classes are a lot easier to manage unless there are one or two particularly disruptive kids, and then it's hugely challenging even for the experienced teachers. As far as lesson planning goes, I've had the best results with activities on paper, away from the iPads, where students were engaged with the language. At Los Naranjos the youngest children are learning English from when they are about two years old now. Other years began English later. Their teacher tells me that she's hoping those children will become more fluent very early on, and therefore more comfortable with English as they move on to higher classes, and maybe even chat in English!
Nice that the weather's been getting warmer. A teacher put a heater in the staff room last week and everyone was pleased! It's all true: Spanish schools are cold!
Lesson planning permitting I'll go to Valencia this afternoon. Looking forward to a bit of sightseeing and meeting up with whoever is around, and Michael who arrived yesterday to observe us all the coming week.
Wednesday 25 January 2017
A bit of advice
Hola chicos y chicas.
I have a rare period of rest today so I thought I'd pen a little blog because I'm feeling nice and reflective and calm (ish). I wanted to write some words of advice for the people coming in Feb to help a little bit. Some of the stuff might only be relevant to me but I thought maybe it would be helpful anyway.
1) Learn students names. I might only be speaking for myself here but I find the classes in which I know (almost) all the students names way easier to control. It might not be possible because I know that some people never see the same class twice, in which case you'd have to be superhuman to remember their names, but where possible learn as many names as poss. It's much easier if they're being chatty and you need to call out specific students.
2) Don't be too hard on yourself. Spanish kids are a bit mad (in the nicest possible way) - if you can get them to be quiet all at once and listen to you for like any period of time then that is a difficult task accomplished. Don't expect that you'll get through all your lesson plan, you'll have given them something valuable even if you only do half.
3) Don't rely on technology. Some of the schools have almost no technology and some of them are quite high-tech by all accounts. Even so have some kind of back up plan up your sleeve if nothing works. I print out lots of pics for my students because the projector is in a v awkward place in the room and half the class can't see it. Holding a picture for them is also good because it centers their attention on you.
4) Enjoyyy yourself :) if you have fun then so will they. Even if you're a shaky nervous mess the first few times like me just pretend that you're having the absolute best time ever. You'll feel better and the students will probably respond more positively.
That's all for now - hope it's helpful and not just pointless ramblings of an exhausted English teacher, I can't really tell.
Besos x
I have a rare period of rest today so I thought I'd pen a little blog because I'm feeling nice and reflective and calm (ish). I wanted to write some words of advice for the people coming in Feb to help a little bit. Some of the stuff might only be relevant to me but I thought maybe it would be helpful anyway.
1) Learn students names. I might only be speaking for myself here but I find the classes in which I know (almost) all the students names way easier to control. It might not be possible because I know that some people never see the same class twice, in which case you'd have to be superhuman to remember their names, but where possible learn as many names as poss. It's much easier if they're being chatty and you need to call out specific students.
2) Don't be too hard on yourself. Spanish kids are a bit mad (in the nicest possible way) - if you can get them to be quiet all at once and listen to you for like any period of time then that is a difficult task accomplished. Don't expect that you'll get through all your lesson plan, you'll have given them something valuable even if you only do half.
3) Don't rely on technology. Some of the schools have almost no technology and some of them are quite high-tech by all accounts. Even so have some kind of back up plan up your sleeve if nothing works. I print out lots of pics for my students because the projector is in a v awkward place in the room and half the class can't see it. Holding a picture for them is also good because it centers their attention on you.
4) Enjoyyy yourself :) if you have fun then so will they. Even if you're a shaky nervous mess the first few times like me just pretend that you're having the absolute best time ever. You'll feel better and the students will probably respond more positively.
That's all for now - hope it's helpful and not just pointless ramblings of an exhausted English teacher, I can't really tell.
Besos x
Tuesday 24 January 2017
Safari anyone?
After a torrential week on the weather front that left my route to school impassable. I literally thought I would never feel warm again but, finally the sun has come out and as I sit here on my roof terrace lesson planning spirits are lifted and life feels good again. Although the old saying goes that 'in Valencia it never rain' that is true, until 13 English Erasmusers hit town. But, be not discouraged February lot. When it's sunny, it is very sunny. Just remember to bring slippers, extra jumpers and a hot water bottle as well as those all important sunglasses and suncream.
All in all, teaching is going well in Vinalesa. My tutor is starting to release the reigns a lot more now that we are in the swing of things and she is really allowing me to be creative. Tomorrow I am conducting an imaginary safari with my kids around the school. Armed with our binoculars (made from toilet roll ends painstakingly decorated in our lesson last week) we will trudge around school searching out animals, lakes, rivers, rainbows and so on to revise that all important vocab and grammar. I don't think I've said "Can you see a...." so much in my life. It's so rewarding when the kids 'get it'. Will let you know how is goes.
Until then, hasta luego!
All in all, teaching is going well in Vinalesa. My tutor is starting to release the reigns a lot more now that we are in the swing of things and she is really allowing me to be creative. Tomorrow I am conducting an imaginary safari with my kids around the school. Armed with our binoculars (made from toilet roll ends painstakingly decorated in our lesson last week) we will trudge around school searching out animals, lakes, rivers, rainbows and so on to revise that all important vocab and grammar. I don't think I've said "Can you see a...." so much in my life. It's so rewarding when the kids 'get it'. Will let you know how is goes.
Until then, hasta luego!
Monday 23 January 2017
Life so far....
Planning, teaching, eating out,
feeling settled in.
Rain,snow, exploring,
Too many beers and gin.
New friends, old friends coming and going,
So many positives, but a few strains showing.
Everyone's working hard, nose to the grind,
Making up for it on the weekends so what's there to mind.
It's flying so fast, time's slipping away,
Enough left to enjoy though,
Were only a little over halfway!
Week three is here already! It came with some sun, which is very welcome after last weeks chilly spell. It's always easier to look on the bright side of life when the sun's shining. For me, in Schola, week 2 was a good one. I have continued to get to know the teachers and students and build on positive relationships. I am enjoying teaching, especially the additional speaking lessons I give on a Friday as I am able to be creative in my planning of them.
My students range from children to adults. Learning to speak English has become very important in Spain over recent years and more and more people are looking to develop their skills. My students started off being quite nervous with me - a native speaker. They were worried about their pronunciation and getting it wrong. As soon as they'd heard my attempts at speaking Spanish and had a good laugh as a consequence, it was clear that we'd created a safe space within which it was good to have a go and also OK to make mistakes. Once they relaxed and their individual personalities started to come through, that's when I really started to get to know them, their stories, their ambitions for the future and their passions. I love that. The opportunity to build relationships with people is the best gift that teaching gives you. And another thing I've learned is that the one thing that all of my students and the other people that I have worked with here, have in common is their overriding sense of pride for their country and culture. Even with minimal English they will speak passionately about the food, the wine, their famous regional fiestas, their lifestyle and their love of life. They want you to know all about it. As well as being taken on that trip to the mountains, I have been given a detailed itinerary of must see places and things to do on a visit to down town Valencia (I'd actually need to spend at least 3 months here to get through this itinerary - but I suppose that it's a good excuse for returning sometime in the future). The Spanish people's love of life and how to live it is something they readily want to share with you. Their verve is infectious and perfect for jump starting January 2017. They think that people from the UK are too serious. My understanding of spoken Spanish may not very good yet but my appreciation and embrace of the culture is good and it's adding another dimension to my outlook for this year.
Planning, teaching, eating out,
feeling settled in.
Rain,snow, exploring,
Too many beers and gin.
New friends, old friends coming and going,
So many positives, but a few strains showing.
Everyone's working hard, nose to the grind,
Making up for it on the weekends so what's there to mind.
It's flying so fast, time's slipping away,
Enough left to enjoy though,
Were only a little over halfway!
Week three is here already! It came with some sun, which is very welcome after last weeks chilly spell. It's always easier to look on the bright side of life when the sun's shining. For me, in Schola, week 2 was a good one. I have continued to get to know the teachers and students and build on positive relationships. I am enjoying teaching, especially the additional speaking lessons I give on a Friday as I am able to be creative in my planning of them.
My students range from children to adults. Learning to speak English has become very important in Spain over recent years and more and more people are looking to develop their skills. My students started off being quite nervous with me - a native speaker. They were worried about their pronunciation and getting it wrong. As soon as they'd heard my attempts at speaking Spanish and had a good laugh as a consequence, it was clear that we'd created a safe space within which it was good to have a go and also OK to make mistakes. Once they relaxed and their individual personalities started to come through, that's when I really started to get to know them, their stories, their ambitions for the future and their passions. I love that. The opportunity to build relationships with people is the best gift that teaching gives you. And another thing I've learned is that the one thing that all of my students and the other people that I have worked with here, have in common is their overriding sense of pride for their country and culture. Even with minimal English they will speak passionately about the food, the wine, their famous regional fiestas, their lifestyle and their love of life. They want you to know all about it. As well as being taken on that trip to the mountains, I have been given a detailed itinerary of must see places and things to do on a visit to down town Valencia (I'd actually need to spend at least 3 months here to get through this itinerary - but I suppose that it's a good excuse for returning sometime in the future). The Spanish people's love of life and how to live it is something they readily want to share with you. Their verve is infectious and perfect for jump starting January 2017. They think that people from the UK are too serious. My understanding of spoken Spanish may not very good yet but my appreciation and embrace of the culture is good and it's adding another dimension to my outlook for this year.
Friday 20 January 2017
Half-way through!
Buenos tardes, blog-ogglers. More like "buenos tardies", considering how late I am to this particular party.
Let's start from the beginning.
The week of training in Chester was, in a lot of ways, a complete joy. One of the best things about TEFL is how effortlessly it brings together people from all walks of life, and as the week progressed I was constantly amazed by the wealth and breadth of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and, above all, silliness.
I found a lot of the input extremely helpful and brilliantly delivered. Jen (smiliest woman bar none) and Emile (badass polyglot, cool as a cucumber) took us through a lot of very interesting material to do with young learners, and equipped us with some very handy games, activity approaches, and planning advice. There were plenty of ideas to steal, and boy, did I steal 'em!
Personally, a slight downer about the training came in the form of the group lesson planning. Planning lessons in a group can be a frustrating experience, as every teacher has a unique approach. When you get five or six teachers to plan one lesson it can often become an exercise in diplomacy, rather than planning, and the end result is a mish-mash that no-one in the group is very happy with. That being said, it was a great way of sharing and stealing ideas, so swings and roundabouts...
So, after a crammed week, we hopped on a plane and "yo, Holmes, to Valencia!".
It was on the plane that I really began to contemplate what a wicked thing this whole shebang is. We're being flown out, put up, given the opportunity to gain some essential and hard to come by experience...and we get to hang in Valencia for a month?! Not too shabby! Thank you very much, UKLC!
We got dropped off at our apartment, which is GORGEOUS, and, like the ridiculious Brits we become when abroad, cracked out some tea, biscuits, and Red Leicester.
The ensuing two weeks have been a non-stop ride, full of thrilling highs, a few considerable lows, and ALL THE LESSON PLANNING IN THE WORLD.
Advice to prospective Erasmus-ers: Don't get roped into teaching on your first day.
I did, and it's my own silly fault, really. What started out as some "Getting to Know You" activities became whole, completely unplanned and really quite manic lessons. A low point was teaching a whole lesson to about 30 17-year olds on Great Expectations, with no plan and only a vague recollection of the book itself. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!
Something that added to my sense of impending meltdown was the sheer, unrelenting noise in my school! Good lord, those kids can holler. I normally don't mind it, and as the days have gone on I've honed my "Teacher Voice" into a booming, (hopefully) authoritative baritone beast. But yes, on day one my ears were ringing.
My tutor, Salut, is the nicest, most patient person I could ever hope to meet. In fact, all the teachers I have met have been utterly lovely. One of them recently asked me if I would come round to her house and play with her kids (in English). I was really touched, and of course accepted. I've become so much more confident in my lesson planning as the days have gone by, and I can't tell you how gratifying it is when a lesson you've spent hours preparing comes off well in class. On the flipside, I've had one or two classes where I've been severely tested, and the frustration and anger can knock you for six, I tell you. But you dust yourself off, try not to take it personally, and onwards, towards Utopia!
Let's start from the beginning.
The week of training in Chester was, in a lot of ways, a complete joy. One of the best things about TEFL is how effortlessly it brings together people from all walks of life, and as the week progressed I was constantly amazed by the wealth and breadth of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and, above all, silliness.
I found a lot of the input extremely helpful and brilliantly delivered. Jen (smiliest woman bar none) and Emile (badass polyglot, cool as a cucumber) took us through a lot of very interesting material to do with young learners, and equipped us with some very handy games, activity approaches, and planning advice. There were plenty of ideas to steal, and boy, did I steal 'em!
Personally, a slight downer about the training came in the form of the group lesson planning. Planning lessons in a group can be a frustrating experience, as every teacher has a unique approach. When you get five or six teachers to plan one lesson it can often become an exercise in diplomacy, rather than planning, and the end result is a mish-mash that no-one in the group is very happy with. That being said, it was a great way of sharing and stealing ideas, so swings and roundabouts...
So, after a crammed week, we hopped on a plane and "yo, Holmes, to Valencia!".
It was on the plane that I really began to contemplate what a wicked thing this whole shebang is. We're being flown out, put up, given the opportunity to gain some essential and hard to come by experience...and we get to hang in Valencia for a month?! Not too shabby! Thank you very much, UKLC!
We got dropped off at our apartment, which is GORGEOUS, and, like the ridiculious Brits we become when abroad, cracked out some tea, biscuits, and Red Leicester.
The ensuing two weeks have been a non-stop ride, full of thrilling highs, a few considerable lows, and ALL THE LESSON PLANNING IN THE WORLD.
Advice to prospective Erasmus-ers: Don't get roped into teaching on your first day.
I did, and it's my own silly fault, really. What started out as some "Getting to Know You" activities became whole, completely unplanned and really quite manic lessons. A low point was teaching a whole lesson to about 30 17-year olds on Great Expectations, with no plan and only a vague recollection of the book itself. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!
Something that added to my sense of impending meltdown was the sheer, unrelenting noise in my school! Good lord, those kids can holler. I normally don't mind it, and as the days have gone on I've honed my "Teacher Voice" into a booming, (hopefully) authoritative baritone beast. But yes, on day one my ears were ringing.
My tutor, Salut, is the nicest, most patient person I could ever hope to meet. In fact, all the teachers I have met have been utterly lovely. One of them recently asked me if I would come round to her house and play with her kids (in English). I was really touched, and of course accepted. I've become so much more confident in my lesson planning as the days have gone by, and I can't tell you how gratifying it is when a lesson you've spent hours preparing comes off well in class. On the flipside, I've had one or two classes where I've been severely tested, and the frustration and anger can knock you for six, I tell you. But you dust yourself off, try not to take it personally, and onwards, towards Utopia!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)